mi 
mm 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/tiffanystudioscoOOtiff_0 


^^^^HIS  volume  is  the  third  in  the  series  pub- 
4  J  lished  by  the  Tiffany  Studios.  The  first 
volume,  "Notable  Oriental  An- 
tique Rugs,"  was  issued  in  October ;  igo6,  and 
the  second,  "Notable  Oriental  Rugs,"  in 
October,  igoj.  In  each  case  the  edition  was 
limited  to  five  hundred  copies,  the  plates  being 
destroyed.  Of  the  igo6  volume  the  edition  is 
exhausted, —  that  of  I  go  J  nearly  so. 

For  some  years  the  Tiffany  Studios  with  care 
and  discrimination  have  purchased  antique 
Chinese  rugs,  and  now  have  on  exhibition  a 
comprehensive  selection  of  beautiful  and  inter- 
esting specimens,  which  in  color,  design  and  age 
form  a  collection  pre-eminent  in  this  country 
and  probably  not  equaled  in  the  world.  Its 
importance  in  numbers  and  in  character  and  the 
fact  that  no  book  has  ever  been  published  on 
this  subject  exclusively,  with  accurate  and  expert 
analyses,  led  to  the  decision  that  the  Catalogue  of 
igo8  should  be  confined  to  Chinese  Rugs,  though 
in  notable  pieces  of  other  countries  the  Tiffany 
Studios  Collection  is  particularly  rich,  including 
authentic  and  interesting  antiques,  ranging  from 
the  simple  tribal  rugs  of  various  countries  woven 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  to  the 
Persian,  Spanish  and  Turkish  carpets  of  the 
fifteenth,  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 
This  book  is  published  to  emphasize  one  important 
branch  of  the  comprehensive  work  in  art  wider- 
taken  by  the  Tiffany  Studios. 


^fatigue  £f)tm£e  &ug# 


THIS   IS   NO.  sZ/y/    OF   AN   EDITION  OF 
IOOO  COPIES.      PRINTED  AT  HILLACRE, 
RIVERSIDE,     CONNECTICUT,     FOR  THE 
TIFFANY  STUDIOS. 
PRESENTED  TO 


RUG  OF  "THE  HUNDRED 
ANTIQUES." 

The  field  of  this  rug  is  of  a  rich  deep 
apricot  color  and  the  designs  upon  it  are 
woven  in  light  and  dark  blue,  two  shades  of 
yellow  and  a  reddish  brown.  A  limiting 
border  of  corrosive  dye  surrounds  the  entire 
rug.  The  objects  which  fill  the  field  are 
copies  of  old  bronzes,  porcelains,  and  various 
other  articles  precious  to  the  Chinese.  Many 
of  these  are  outlined  in  contrasting  colors  and 
bear  decorations  of  significance.  There  are 
scrolls,  books,  altar  implements,  tripods,  vases 
of  flowers,  brush  holders,  ink-stones,  a  chess- 
board, branches  of  coral,  a  lute,  incense,  vases, 
basins  and  stands  carrying  plants  and  fungus 
growths,  a  rhinosceros  horn,  jade  charms,  etc. 
In  the  main  border  a  dark  blue  swastika  fret 
is  laid  upon  a  ground  color  of  apricot  which 
has  faded  to  a  soft  dull  yellow.  Imposed 
upon  this  fret  are  flower  forms  carrying  signs 
of  "  shou."  Bands  of  yellow  and  two  shades  of 
blue  separate  the  main  border  from  the  field. 

[No.  5600 — 10.3x5.8] 


moil  P. 


g>tuotosi  Collection 

of  Antique 
Cfjtnesie  fiugs 


347  to  355  Jfflabteon  Sbenue 
igeto  gorfe 


Copyright,  1908 
By  The  Tiffany  Studios 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  Page 

I  Historic  Periods  in  Chinese  Art  1 3 

II  Materials  Used  in  Chinese  Rugs  17 

III  Methods  of  Weaving  Chinese  Rugs  23 

IV  Colors    Employed     by  Chinese 

Weavers  3 1 

V  Designs  Found  in  Chinese  Rugs  39 

VI  The  Classification  of  Rugs  Ac- 

cording to  Design  53 

VII  The   Classification   of  Rugs  Ac- 

cording to  Color  65 

VIII  Description  of  Plates  79 


LIST  OF  PLATES. 

Plate  I      (a.)  Archaic  Bronze  Sacrificial  Urn 

(b.)  Border  from  Chinese  rug 

Plate  II    (a.)  Dragon-fret  square 

(b.)  Geometric-fret  square 

Plate  III  Archaic  dragon  rug 

Plate  IV  Mirror-back  rug 

Plate  V  Abacus  rug 

Plate  VI  Po-Ku  rug 


LIST  OF  PLATES 


Plate  VII     Geometric  dragon  medallion  rug 

Plate  VIII  Longevity  rug 

Plate  IX  Happiness  rug 

Plate  X  Magistrate's  rug 

Plate  XI  Metal  and  silk  rug 

Plate  XII  Chinese  Kirman  rug 

Plate  XIII  Western  Lotus  rug 

Plate  XIV  Gold  and  azure  rug 

Plate  XV  Swallow-myth  rug 

Plate  XVI  Sacred  deer  rug 

Plate  XVII  Swastika  medallion  rug 
Plate  XVIII          Cloud-band  medallion  rug 

Plate  XIX  Moslem-blue  rug 

Plate  XX  Persimmon-color  rug 

Plate  XXI  Grains-of-rice  rug 

Plate  XXII  Nine  lion  rug 

Plate  XXIII  Literati  rug 

Plate  XXIV  Buddhist  rug 

Plate  XXV  Five  medallion  rug 

Plate  XXVI  Archaic  lion  rug 

Plate  XXVII  Eight  medallion  rug 

Plate  XXVIII  Ten  medallion  rug 

Plate  XXIX  Thirteen  medallion  rug 

Plate  XXX  Sacred  mountain  mats 
Plate  XXXI  Foliate  dragon  medallion  rug 
Plate  XXXII    Gold  and  azure  medallion  rug 


PREFACE. 


HE  classifications  of  Chinese  rugs 
adopted  by  different  students  must 
necessarily  vary.  As  there  are  no 
existing  records  of  the  evolution  of  the  Chinese 
weaver's  art,  its  traditional  history  can  play 
no  part  in  the  formation  of  opinions.  There- 
fore the  classification  of  rugs  must  depend 
upon  the  recognition  of  certain  technical 
peculiarities  in  them.  These  peculiarities 
reveal  methods  that  either  antedate  or  follow 
other  methods  of  which  we  have  a  know- 
ledge which  makes  it  possible  to  place 
objects  relatively  with  a  great  amount  of 
accuracy.  The  technical  peculiarities  that 
support  trained  opinion  have  been  explained 
in  the  following  chapters.  They  have  to  do 
with  materials  used  by  weavers,  with  the 
colors  of  these  materials,  and  with  the  various 
methods  of  weaving  them. 

IT  may  readily  be  seen,  as  has  been 
demonstrated,  that   designs    in  rugs 
admit  of  entirely  different  classifica- 
tion from  that  of  the  fabrics  themselves.  Only 


PREFACE 


when  both  weaving  and  design  are  studied  to- 
gether is  substantial  evidence  acquired  that  will 
corroborate  all  theories  in  regard  to  the  time 
and  place  of  manufacture,  for  the  same  designs 
were  used  by  weavers  who  lived  centu- 
ries apart.  The  effect  of  time  and  age  on 
materials  and  colors  must  be  noted  before 
classing  any  fabric  as  antique,  however  old 
the  design  may  be.  In  adopting  five  periods 
as  indicative  of  five  great  styles  in  Chinese 
weavings,  the  Tiffany  Studios  have  so  grouped 
the  rugs  in  their  collection  that  they  may 
illustrate  the  theories  advanced,  which  are 
based  upon  careful  analysis  and  comparison. 
The  spelling  of  Chinese  words  adopted  by 
the  Tiffany  Studios  in  the  naming  and  classi- 
fication of  rugs  is  as  far  as  possible  that  used 
by  distinguished  scholars  who  have  written  in 
English  of  things  Chinese.  When  such 
authorities  differ,  choice  has  been  made  of 
words  as  they  have  been  most  commonly 
employed  by  collectors. 

Starred  numbers  in  the  text  refer  to  rugs 
illustrated  in  the  plates;  unstarred  numbers, 
to  other  rugs  in  the  Tiffany  Studios  Collection. 

M.C.R. 


Chapter  I. 


HISTORIC  PERIODS  IN 
CHINESE  ART. 

V — "B~T  whatever  actual  time  the  Chinese 
rugs  were  made  which  now  exist  in 
•2 — collections  and  museums,  the  designs 
used  by  their  makers  may  be  readily  classed 
as  belonging  to  one  or  another  of  five  great 
styles  that  have  made  Chinese  art  what  it  is. 

nOOKING  into  the  remote  past  for  the 
influences  that  produced  the  first  of 
the  great  styles,  we  find  convincing 
evidence  that,  on  ancient  bronzes  and 
sacrificial  vessels  and  implements  used  by 
Confucianists  and  Taoists,  the  designs  mytho- 
logical, naturalistic  and  geometric  are  to  be 
found,  which  have  been  copied  all  through 
the  centuries.    These  designs  were  native  to 

^13^ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


China,  had  to  do  with  ancestor  worship  and 
the  worship  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  were 
elemental  and  crude  in  conception  and  execu- 
tion ;  but  as  they  were  originally  drawn  they 
were  often  copied  in  facsimiles  of  later  date. 

ITH  the  entrance  of  Buddhism  into 
China  during  the  first  century  of  our 
era,  the  great  flood  of  new  thought 
brought  about  changes  in  existing  ornament, 
and  developed  much  that  was  entirely  new, 
making  the  second  period  in  the  styles  in 
Chinese  ornament.  With  Buddhism  came 
the  decorative  impulse,  and  though  the  new 
cult  seized  much  that  it  found  ready  for  its 
adoption,  it  also  added  new  ideas  that  were 
easily  grafted  upon  the  native  stock;  and 
whether  or  not  some  of  the  features  ordinarily 
claimed  to  be  Buddhist  antedated  the 
Christian  era,  it  is  true  that  the  designs  creat- 
ed by  Buddhism  are  different  from  those  of 
the  earlier  period. 

OURING  the  Sung  dynasty,  the  third 
of  the  great  styles  developed.  The 
philosophers    of   the    eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries  reverted  to  the  past  in  their 

H-  I  4  -1— 


PLATE  I. 

a.  Archaic  Bronze  Sacrificial  Urn. 

b.  Border  from  Chinese  rug,  with  archaic 
dragon,  geometric  and  foliate 
ornamentation. 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


studies,  and  their  comments  and  conclusions 
furnished  art  with  a  net-work  of  ideas,  from 
which  many  intricate  philosophical  and  occult 
designs  evolved.  Neither  the  entrance  of 
Mohammedan,  Roman  Catholic  or  Mongo- 
lian ideas  materially  changed  the  historic 
ornament  of  China  prior  to  the  Sung  dynasty. 
The  motifs  they  supplied  were  mingled  with 
those  of  later  periods  into  which  they  merged. 

HE  Ming  dynasty  gave  birth  to  the 
fourth  period  in  the  styles  of  Chinese 
ornament,  and  during  its  continuance, 
from  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  to  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  both 
Mohammedan  and  European  influences  marked 
art  in  many  ways.  During  this  period  there 
was  employed  in  art  work  a  superlative  abund- 
ance of  decorative  schemes.  Objects  of  rare 
beauty  were  made  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Ming  emperors,  and  art  reached  its  high  water 
mark  in  China. 

HE  fifth  great  epoch  in  the  produc- 
tion of  Chinese  styles  began  with  the 
Emperor   K'ang-hsi   of   the  present 
Tartar  dynasty,  and  extended  for  one  hundred 

I  $ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


years  until  the  latter  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  The  influence  of  Persia  and 
the  middle  Orient  was  felt  very  much  dur- 
ing this  period,  and  differentiated  its  ornament 
from  all  that  had  gone  before. 

HE  historic  ornament  of  China  as 
applied  to  the  decoration  of  rugs  may 
be  divided  into  these  five  great  styles. 
From  these  styles  weavers  have  appropriated 
the  designs  best  adapted  to  the  limitations  of 
their  looms,  and  oftentimes,  when  ornament 
as  applied  to  some  other  of  the  industrial  arts 
is  copied  by  weavers,  great  freedom  is  notice- 
able in  the  handling  of  designs.  The  arts  are 
interdependent,  and  the  objects  produced  by 
jade,  ivory,  and  wood  carvers,  bronze  mirror 
makers  and  potters  have  furnished  rug  weavers 
with  many  of  their  most  attractive  inspira- 
tions. These  five  styles  may  be  subdivided, 
contracted  or  extended  for  specific  purposes, 
but  the  broad  classification  is  all  that  is  nec- 
essary in  the  study  of  rugs. 


-j- 1 6 


PLATE  II. 

a.  Dragon-fret  square. 
[5115- 2.9x2.10] 

b.  Geometric-fret  square. 
[5462—2.9x2.5] 


Chapter  II. 


MATERIALS  USED  IN 
CHINESE  RUGS. 

^^^^HE  Chinese  rugs  which  are  available 
1  J  for  examination  and  study  to-day, 
about  which  expert  students  have  a 
right  to  speculate,  and  in  regard  to  which 
trained  opinion  is  of  great  value,  are  made 
with  a  pile  of  either  fine  or  coarse  wool, 
hair,  or  silk,  seldom  if  ever  of  either  cotton 
or  jute.  Sometimes  the  wool  is  so  coarse 
that  it  has  the  appearance  of  jute,  and  rugs 
are  often  classified  as  jute  that  are  in  reality 
of  coarse  hair  or  wool.  Japanese  rugs  that 
imitate  Persian  and  Chinese  are  made  of 
cotton  or  jute,  and  need  not  be  mistaken  for 
the  products  which  they  imitate,  as  they  are 

— h  1 7  -i— 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


distinctive  and  may  be  very  easily  placed. 

gLTHOUGH  it  is  generally  possible  to 
determine  at  a  glance  the  material  used 
in  the  pile  of  Chinese  rugs,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  remove  a  single  knot  from  the  rug 
and  untwist  it  in  order  to  come  to  definite 
conclusion  in  regard  to  the  methods  employed 
in  the  preparation  of  the  materials.  Hand 
spinning  is  easily  detected,  as  it  is  generally 
possible  to  pull  apart  the  filaments  and  turn 
the  wool  back  again  into  its  original  condition 
when  it  has  been  crudely  prepared  by  domes- 
tic process,  whereas  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
do  this  with  machine  twisted  wool,  hair,  or 
silk,  which  has  been  stretched  and  drawn  out 
of  all  resemblance  to  natural  wool  or  cocoon 
silk.  The  test  of  burning  is  absolute  and  one 
has  only  to  burn  cotton,  silk,  wool  and  hair, 
one  after  the  other,  in  order  to  be  able  to  see 
the  variations  in  the  way  fire  affects  the  dif- 
ferent products.  The  sense  of  smell  aids  that 
of  sight,  burning  wool  emitting  a  vastly  dif- 
ferent odor  from  either  cotton  or  silk.  With 
these  methods  at  hand  for  drawing  definite 
conclusions,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  avoid 
all  mistakes  in  the  classification  of  materials. 

-f- 1 8 «+- 


PLATE  III. 


Archaic  dragon  rug. 
[5^2—5.11x3.11] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


^^^^HE  nature  of  the  hair  in  Chinese  rugs 
€  J  varies.  Camel's  hair  is  easily  recog- 
nized,  both  in  superior  and  inferior 
grades.  There  is  a  softness  and  spring  to  the 
hairs,  and,  under  a  strong  glass,  variations  in 
their  size  are  noticeable.  Many  Chinese 
rugs  are  made  of  a  coarse  hair  which  resem- 
bles cow's  hair.  These  are  generally  known 
as  Yak  rugs  in  the  Occident  and  are  readily 
distinguishable,  whatever  animal  actually 
yielded  the  hair  used  in  their  manufacture. 
The  use  to-day  of  certain  materials  leads  to 
the  inference  that  the  same  were  used  in  the 
past.  This  conclusion  is  useful  as  it  enables 
one  to  classify  the  rugs  to-day  in  collections 
either  public  or  private. 

^^^^HE  pile  in  many  of  the  most  interest- 
J  mS  rugs  tnat  have  been  made  in 
China  is  of  very  coarse  hair  twisted 
with  the  most  ordinary  grade  of  wool.  These 
rugs  generally  bear  designs  which  correspond 
in  crudity  with  the  material  used  in  their 
manufacture.  The  wools  in  Chinese  rugs 
vary  and  admit  of  careful  analysis.  In  rugs 
made  prior  to  the  nineteenth  century  the 
wools  seem    to   have  greater  spring,  vigor 

-i- 1 9  -\— 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


and  glint  than  those  which  were  made  during 
the   last  century  by  more  refined  processes. 

HEN  very  soft  wool  loosely  twisted 
is  used  in  early  Ming  fabrics,  several 
strands  are  found  in  each  knot  tied, 
which  as  they  untwist  make  a  fine  surface 
almost  like  velvet.  While  wool  is  used  in 
the  weft  and  sometimes  in  the  warp  in  rugs 
of  the  Western  part  of  the  Chinese  Empire 
and  in  Tibet,  we  rarely  if  ever  find  a  wool 
web  in  the  rugs  of  Eastern  China.  Cotton 
very  crudely  prepared  appears  in  warp  and 
woof  in  Chinese  rugs  both  coarse  and  fine 
but  cotton  is  very  rarely  used  in  the  pile. 
This  material  has  been  adopted  by  the 
Japanese,  who  closely  imitate  in  cotton  and 
jute  the  wool  and  silk  rugs  of  China,  Persia 
and  other  parts  of  the  Orient. 

ECHNICAL  methods  of  preparing 
materials  become  apparent  to  the 
trained  eye.  The  careful  cleansing  of 
natural  products,  while  it  refines  them,  some- 
times takes  from  the  charm  of  crude  methods 
of  preparation.  Loose  spinning  and  irregular 
yarn  indicate  that  the  fabric  was  made  before 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


the  introduction  of  process  work  of  any  kind 
in  the  place  of  its  manufacture,  and  though 
labor  is  simplified  and  reduced  by  mechanical 
means,  there  is  a  vastly  different  appearance 
to  rugs  made  under  modern  factory  control 
from  those  produced  independently  by 
domestic  process.  The  same  conclusions  may 
be  drawn  regarding  the  preparation  of  silk. 
Hard  and  compact  surfaces  are  produced  by 
the  use  of  carefully  prepared  silk  while  soft 
and  crude  effects  are  due  to  the  use  of  infe- 
rior grades  of  silk  and  often  to  the  use  of  a  raw 
tram  silk  spun  direct  from  the  cocoons.  This 
analysis,  while  in  no  way  adding  to  or  taking 
from  the  appreciation  of  the  beauty  of  a 
rug,  aids  materially  in  determining  its  age. 


2  I 


PLATE  IV. 


Mirror  back  rug. 
[5454— 6.5x4-3] 


Chapter  III. 

METHODS  OF  WEAVING 
CHINESE  RUGS. 

HE  Chinese  observe  the  ordinary 
methods  employed  all  through  the 
Orient  in  the  weaving  of  pile  carpets, 
the  difference  in  the  finished  product  being 
due  to  slight  technical  variations  that  serve  as 
ear-marks  for  identification.  These  may  be 
noted  in  the  warp  and  woof  threads,  and  in  the 
way  the  knots,  the  ends  of  which  make  the 
pile,  are  tied.  Even  without  actual  his- 
torical records  of  how  and  when  Chinese 
fabrics  were  made,  it  is  quite  possible  to  divide 
existing  specimens  in  such  a  way  as  to  de- 
termine the  relation  of  one  fabric  to  another ; 
the  changes  from  domestic  to  factory  weaving 
and  preparation  of  materials  being  quite 
apparent  to  the  analyst. 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


IN  many  old  rugs  the  warp  threads  are 
of  soft  loosely  twisted  cotton,  the 
threads  varying  in  thickness,  and  there 
are  only  about  six  or  eight  warp  threads  to  an 
inch,  even  in  rugs  that  appear  on  the  surface 
to  be  fine  and  compactly  woven.  The  woof 
threads  in  such  rugs  generally  separate  only 
three  rows  of  knots  to  the  inch  and  are  held 
in  place  by  warp  threads  which  have  been 
separated  for  their  insertion  by  most  primi- 
tive methods.  It  is  quite  possible  to  note 
that  in  making  the  yarn  used  for  these  woof 
threads,  the  cotton  has  been  twisted  by  twirl- 
ing the  shaft  between  the  fingers  and  the 
thumb  in  a  very  primitive  way.  The  shuttles 
that  have  been  used  to  separate  warp  threads 
in  antique  rugs  made  for  ordinary  use  were, 
judging  from  the  work  accomplished  by  them, 
clumsy  and  large  and  incapable  of  producing 
fine  and  compact  work. 

ITH  the  refinement  of  implements 
and  processes  a  loss  as  well  as  a  gain 
has  been  accomplished,  virility  and 
simplicity  of  conception  giving  place  at  times 
to  less  vigor  with  advance  in  skill.  Some- 
times several  woof  threads  are  twisted  loosely 

-4-  24 


PLATE  V. 

Abacus  rug. 
[5581—6.6x3.9] 


PLATE  VI. 

Po-Ku  rug. 
[55°9— 9-3x5-3] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


together  before  they  are  wound  on  the  shuttle, 
and  after  taking  their  places  in  the  web  they 
separate  and  appear  like  four  threads,  even 
when  the  shuttle  is  only  thrown  back  and 
forth  once  between  each  two  rows  of  knots. 
This  description  has  to  do  with  the  rugs  of 
Eastern  China.  The  rugs  of  Western  China 
and  of  Chinese  Turkestan,  and  many  of  the 
rugs  of  Manchuria,  of  Northern  China  and 
the  "cold  countries"  carry  woof  threads  of 
wool  and  in  some  instances  the  entire  web  is 
woven  of  wool  strands  for  both  warp  and 
woof. 

HE  knots  in  Chinese  pile  weaving  are 
made  by  carrying  the  yarn  under  one 
strand  (A)  of  the  warp  and  over  the 
second  strand  (B),  which  it  surrounds,  the  end 
to  appear  between  the  two  threads  A  and  B. 
This  gives  a  knot  end  between  every  two 
warp  threads.  In  parting  the  pile  on  the 
surface,  it  is  possible  to  expose  one  of  every 
pair  of  warp  threads  (thread  A  for  example) 
as  only  one  strand  of  each  pair  is  encircled 
completely  by  the  pile  wool.  With  Turkish 
knots  it  is  impossible  to  do  this,  as  both 
strands  of  each  pair  of  the  warp  threads  are 

25  h- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


encircled.  Chinese  knots  are  tied  exactly  as 
Persian  or  Sinneh  knots,  differing  from  them 
in  appearance  simply  because  of  the  more 
slazy  quality  of  the  loose  web. 

XN  silk  rugs,  warp,  woof  and  pile  are 
apt  to  be  of  silk,  though  sometimes, 
to  cheapen  the  product,  the  woof 
strands  are  of  cotton.  The  weft  in  some 
very  old  silk  rugs  consists  of  coarse  silk,  about 
which  a  strong  silk  thread  is  twisted.  Some 
of  the  fine  silk  rugs  of  the  Ming  dynasty  show 
this  interesting  feature. 

HERE  are  certain  technical  peculiari- 
ties in  weaving  that  have  produced 
styles  now  known  as  Ming,  K'ang- 
hsi,  Yung-cheng,  Kien-lung  and  Tao-kuang. 
In  the  classification  of  Chinese  rugs,  allusion 
is  more  often  made  to  monarchs  than  to 
centuries,  for  styles  evolved  under  the  patron- 
age of  one  or  another  sovereign,  and  these 
styles,  with  the  influence  upon  them  of  foreign 
conquest  and  intercourse  with  other  nations, 
eventually  resulted  in  producing  the  various 
schemes  adopted  by  weavers. 

—J-  26  -K 


PLATE  VII. 


Geometric  dragon  medallion  rug. 

[5576-8.6x5.4] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


ARLY  Ming  rugs  divide  themselves 
into  two  classes  —  those  made  at  the 
behest  of  royalty  for  the  private  use 
of  princes  and  sovereigns,  and  those  that  were 
made  for  ordinary  domestic  or  temple  use. 
There  are  fine  old  silk  fabrics  with  a  close- 
cut  pile  resembling  velvet,  which  illustrate 
different  methods  of  weaving — one  method 
being  that  of  making  the  rug  entirely  of  silk, 
by  tying  the  knots  which  make  the  pile  upon 
a  silk  warp  which  is  penetrated  between  each 
two  rows  of  knots  by  a  silk  weft  thread. 
Another,  and  the  most  commonly  accepted 
method,  was  to  make  both  warp  and  woof  of 
cotton  and  only  the  pile  of  silk. 


^^^HE  sumptuous  rugs  known  as  the 
M  J  metal  and  silk  products  of  the  Ming 
dynasty  are  among  the  most  marvel- 
lous fruits  of  the  loom.  The  design  is  shown 
in  relief  upon  a  flat  background  of  metal,  in 
which  both  gold  and  silver  threads  are  used. 
This  same  general  style  of  weaving  obtains  in 
other  countries,  but  there  are  slight  technical 
differences  which   reveal   variations    in  the 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


methods  employed.  In  some  rugs,  for  ex- 
ample, the  metal  forms  the  woof  which 
penetrates  the  warp  threads  as  in  ordinary 
weaving  and  is  packed  so  closely  that  it  makes 
a  solid  appearance  and  a  smooth  metallic  sur- 
face. In  others,  upon  a  web  of  cotton,  a 
chain-stitch  of  metal  thread  is  carried  across 
from  side  to  side  of  the  rug,  making  an  em- 
broidered surface.  The  same  appearance  is 
obtained  in  the  weavings  of  other  parts  of  the 
Orient  by  encircling  each  warp  thread  by  a 
single  woof  thread  back  and  forth  across  the 
width  of  the  stretched  warp,  producing  a 
herringbone  pattern. 

HE  name  "Late  Ming"  is  given  to  a 
style  of  rugs  woven  before  Persian 
influence  was  strongly  felt  in  the  de- 
signs forced  upon  Chinese  weavers.  Only  a 
few  of  the  rugs  thus  classified  are  obtainable 
at  the  present  time  and  in  them  the  colors 
are  soft  and  the  general  effect  subdued. 
Yellow  tan,  which  has  faded  from  apricot, 
and  two  shades  of  blue,  with  a  dark  brown 
natural  wool,  are  the  only  colors  used  in 
the  pile  of  the  late  Ming  rugs  of  this  style. 

— 28  4— 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


ESIDE  copying  Ming  styles,  K'ang- 
shi  rugs  show  Persian  influence  in 
design,  and  the  color  schemes,  even 
where  later  designs  are  used,  are  similar  to 
those  of  the  late  Ming  period.  Manchurian 
ideas  and  colors  are  noticeable  in  late  K'ang- 
hsi  rugs  and  in  the  Yung-cheng  period  such 
are  included.  With  Kien-lung  came  the 
Turkestan,  East  Indian  and  Samarcand  in- 
fluences, as  well  as  the  development  and 
demonstration  of  designs  and  methods  purely 
Chinese,  so  that  the  Kien-lung  period  of  sixty 
years,  covering  as  it  did  the  greater  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  included  in  its 
products  a  reproduction  of  almost  everything 
that  had  gone  before,  as  well  as  much  of 
additional  interest  and  beauty. 

IGHTEENTH  century  weavings  are 
distinguishable  however  from  those  of 
earlier  periods,  and  the  fabrics  them- 
selves must  be  relied  upon  to  authenticate 
specimens.  Broadly  speaking  then  it  is  ad- 
visable to  divide  the  antique  rugs  of  China 
into  five  periods;  first,  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth century  Ming;  second,  K'ang-hsi; 
third,  Yung-cheng  ;  fourth,  Kien-lung ;  fifth, 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


Tao-kuang  or  early  nineteenth  century.  Rugs 
of  the  Kwang-su  period,  made  during  the  last 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  differ  en- 
tirely from  the  factory  and  commercial  rugs 
made  to-day,  and  may  be  classed  as  native 
products  and  are  often  most  beautiful  and 
alluring. 


PLATE  VIII. 


Longevity  rug. 
[5580 — 6.6x3.10] 


Chapter  IV 


COLORS  EMPLOYED  BY  CHINESE 
WEAVERS. 

CHINESE  rugs  en  masse  have  a  vastly 
different  appearance  from  a  correspond- 
ing number  of  Persian,  Indian  or 
Turkish  fabrics.  Even  when  they  are  thrown 
with  rugs  of  other  makes,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  detect  Chinese  rugs  at  a  glance. 
Why  this  is  so  is  perchance  a  debatable  ques- 
tion, though  without  doubt  most  students 
who  have  given  the  subject  any  consideration 
would  not  hesitate  to  say  that  it  is  due  to  the 
lack  in  Chinese  rugs  of  primary  red,  and  the 
substitution  of  varying  secondary  shades,  such 
as  the  fruit  reds,  apricot,  persimmon,  pome- 
granate and  peach,  that  give  the  fabrics  a 
Chinese  appearance  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


yellows  and  blues  are  often  as  strong  and 
strictly  primary  in  tone  in  Chinese  as  in  other 
rugs. 

M^'HE  colors  employed  by  the  Chinese 
■  c  J  differ  from  those  used  by  Persian  rug 
weavers,  in  that  the  Chinese  palette  is 
the  smaller.  Where  the  Persians  would 
introduce  a  dozen  tones,  the  Chinese  content 
themselves  with  four  or  five.  We  find 
in  rugs  of  one  class  two  shades  of  yellow, 
two  shades  of  blue  and  cream  color.  In 
another  two  shades  of  blue,  cream  color 
and  apricot  red.  In  another  two  shades  of 
of  yellow,  two  shades  of  cream  and  apricot. 
In  another  two  shades  of  blue,  cream,  brown 
and  two  shades  of  yellow.  A  Persian  rug 
classing  with  these  would  have  yellow,  two 
shades  of  blue,  cream,  several  shades  of 
green,  fire-color,  turquoise-blue  and  many 
shades  of  red.  In  Chinese  rugs,  however 
important,  one  fails  to  find  many  colors. 
The  rugs  of  Chinese-Turkestan  and  of  the 
Samarcand  district  lean  toward  Indian  and 
Persian  methods  of  introducing  colors,  but 
strictly  Chinese  rugs  only  show  four  or  five 
tones. 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


IN  studying  the  limited  palette  of  the 
Chinese  weaver  it  is  interesting  to  be- 
gin with  the  use  made  of  natural  col- 
ored wools  and  hair.  The  fawn  colors,  which 
are  strictly  Chinese,  differ  somewhat  from  the 
tan  colors  of  Hamadan  camel's  hair.  The 
coarse  hair  of  the  yak,  the  cow  and  the  other 
animals,  and  the  wool  both  coarse  and  fine 
from  native  sheep,  give  endless  variety  to  the 
quality  of  the  materials  used,  which  furnish 
the  varying  shades  of  fawn,  tan,  and  light 
and  dark  brown  in  Chinese  rugs. 

B VERY  dark  brown  that  is  sometimes 
found  in  Chinese  rugs  is  of  so  corrosive 
a  nature  that  the  wool  dyed  with  it 
is  often  entirely  gone  from  rugs  in  which  the 
wools  of  every  other  color  are  in  perfect  con- 
dition. We  only  occasionally  find  an  old 
Chinese  rug  in  which  this  peculiar  shade  of 
dark  brown  shows  no  wear  whatever,  and 
on  examination  the  material  proves  to  be  of 
natural  color  and  a  blackish  brown  wool  or 
hair.  Such  are  without  doubt  the  original 
color  and  material  used,  of  which  the  brown, 
dyed  with  corrosive  dye,  is  a  copy.  Colors 
found   in  existing  antique  specimens  to-day 

--33^ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


are  invaluable  as  guides  to  the  study  of  the 
color  scheme  thought  out  by  old  weavers. 
Some  of  these  shades  accidentally  obtained 
have  never  been  equalled  by  the  inten- 
tional mingling  of  colors,  and  have 
different  values,  according  to  the  materials 
to  which  they  are  applied.  There  is  how- 
ever enough  likeness  between  rugs  of  silk 
and  those  of  wool  of  any  period  to  make 
it  possible  to  place  them  together,  though  the 
shades  of  color  vary  somewhat. 

XN  small  fragments  of  very  old  Chinese 
rugs,  and  in  copies  of  them,  natural 
colored  wools  and  hair  are  used  in 
combination  or  in  varying  tones  of  the  same 
color.  Simple  floral  or  symbolic  objects  are 
worked  in  a  bleached  white,  while  the  body 
of  the  rug  is  of  unbleached  wool.  Camel's 
hair  is  varied  with  dark  wool  and  several 
shades  of  tan  are  so  mingled  as  to  show  lines 
of  solid  colors  surrounding  a  figured  field. 

©LUE  in  Chinese  rugs  when  combined 
with  white  shows  as  varying  results 
as  does   the   mingling  of  the  same 
colors  in  Chinese  porcelains.    To  Chinese 

-+34+- 


PLATE  IX. 

Happiness  rug. 
[5579— 5-8x4.0]- 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


blues  many  names  have  been  applied  which 
obtain  with  more  or  less  accuracy.  There  is  the 
indigo  or  deep  strong  blue  found  in  the  rugs 
of  both  Northern  and  Southern  China,  and 
the  azure  blue  which  is  almost  never  found 
in  rugs  later  than  the  eighteenth  century. 
Sapphire  blue  found  in  Kien-lung  Chinese- 
Turkestan  rugs  is  unlike  the  light  blue  of 
either  earlier  or  later  periods.  Silver  blue 
appears  in  Peking  rugs  and  grey  blue  in  the 
products  of  Ning-hsi  and  the  Northern 
provinces. 

^ ■%  ITH  white  also  we  find  limitless  varia- 
1  tions,  so  that  a  blue  and  white  wool 
rug  of  China  may  show  blue  of  any 
of  the  well  known  shades  with  quite  as  wide 
a  range  of  tones  in  the  white  wool  employed 
in  the  field.  Cream  and  ash  white,  egg-shell 
white  and  clay  color,  grey  white  and  putty 
color,  silver  white  and  blanc  de  chine,  are  a 
few  of  the  numberless  shades  employed  in 
making  the  so-called  blue  and  white  rugs  of 
China  and  as  in  porcelains,  so  in  textiles, 
never  does  the  color  known  as  the  "blue 
shown  in  a  rift  in  the  clouds  after  rain"  ap- 
pear to  such  advantage  as  when  blue  is  com- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


bined  with  the  cloud  white  most  closely 
related  to  it. 

HE  various  shades  of  red  are  more 
difficult  to  define  than  any  of  the 
other  colors  employed  by  Chinese 
weavers.  From  whatever  natural  product 
they  are  obtained,  they  are  of  entirely  dif- 
ferent nature  from  the  reds  of  any  other 
country.  Names  that  have  been  so  often 
used  as  finally  to  seem  of  value  and  import- 
ance in  classifying  Chinese  reds  are  pome- 
granate, persimmon,  apricot,  peach  and  fire 
color.  The  blood  red  found  in  old  Samar- 
cands  and  rugs  of  Turkestan  and  Tibet,  never 
appears  in  the  wool  rugs  of  China,  though 
occasionally  a  vivid  ruby  red  is  found  in 
Chinese  silk  fabrics.  Antique  Chinese  fruit 
reds  are  heavy  with  yellow  and  are  utterly 
lacking  in  cerise  and  rose  tints. 

IMPERIAL  yellow  commands  with 
Mandarin  yellow  the  interest  of  all 
who  endeavor  to  demonstrate  the 
subtle  differences  that  make  for  distinction 
and  importance  in  the  textiles  of  China. 
There  is  not  an  orange  tint  in  the  imperial 

2  6  -H- 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


yellow  found  in  rugs,  but  there  is  enough  red 
in  the  dye  to  prevent  any  verging  toward 
lemon  color,  which  of  late  years  has  dis- 
tinguished modern  products.  Mandarin 
yellow  favors  orange  color  and  yet  differs  en- 
tirely from  fire-color  in  which  there  is  almost 
as  much  orange  color  as  red.  No  green  is 
apparent  in  Chinese  rugs  that  antedate  the 
Kien-lung  period,  and  only  in  rugs  made 
after  1875  is  there  to  be  found  the  glaringly 
bad  greenish  yellow  that  at  once  testifies  to 
the  age  of  wools  dyed  with  modern  coal  tar 
products.  We  look  in  vain  for  greens  in 
Chinese  rugs.  When  they  appear  at  rare  in- 
tervals they  are  of  late  date,  and  are  seldom 
found  in  rugs  woven  east  of  Turkestan. 

HE  fugitive  nature  of  some  of  the 
Chinese  fruit  reds  causes  them  to  fade 
out  to  a  dull  brown  or  yellow,  and 
oftentimes  a  rug  of  tawny  golden  hue  will 
upon  close  examination  be  found  to  have  no 
yellow  whatever  in  the  pile,  and  the  beautiful 
result  has  been  brought  about  by  the  effect  of 
time  and  slow  fading,  the  yellow  tones  alone 
remaining  after  the  vegetable  or  fruit  reds 
have   disappeared   entirely.      The   dyers  of 

37^ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


China  at  the  present  time  mix  with  the  twigs 
of  logwood  the  juice  of  certain  berries  to  give 
the  yellow  cast  which  characterizes  Chinese 
reds.  Any  theories  concerning  ancient 
methods  of  dyeing  materials  in  China  are 
however  largely  speculative ;  and  only  with 
the  present  conditions  of  textiles  is  it  possible 
to  deal. 

aS  far  as  we  are  able  to  determine  by 
study  of  the  rugs  of  China  themselves, 
there  has  been  no  servile  allegiance 
whatever  shown  by  weavers  to  the  significance 
of  colors.  Chinese  color  symbolism  is  more 
accurate  and  direct  than  any  of  the  ancient 
schemes  for  the  use  of  colors,  and  in  many 
branches  of  art  it  obtains  and  may  be  de- 
pended upon,  though  not  in  rug  weaving. 
There  are  five  colors  considered  sacred  in 
China,  each  one  supposed  to  be  related  to 
various  natural  objects  and  phenomena.  One 
and  another  method  is  observed  by  authorities 
in  the  arrangement  of  these  colors,  the 
sequence  most  commonly  accepted  being 
black,  green,  red,  white,  yellow. 


PLATE  X. 


Magistrate's  rug. 
[4389—5.8x3.0] 


Chapter  V. 

DESIGNS   FOUND  IN 
CHINESE  RUGS. 

OESIGNS  native  and  borrowed  in 
Chinese  rugs  do  not  apparently  belong 
to  families,  tribes  or  localities  as  they 
do  in  other  parts  of  the  Orient.  The  patri- 
archal nature  of  the  native  religions  forced 
the  use  of  certain  objects  in  all  parts  of  the 
Empire,  which  were  made  in  stereotyped 
fashion  and  which  bore  accepted  designs.  It 
would  appear  that  weavers  copied  the  designs 
that  had  been  thought  out  by  craftsmen  in 
the  decoration  of  other  objects  long  ago. 
These  objects  were  presumably  of  bronze  and 
to  the  sacrificial  bronzes  of  early  Chinese 
dynasties  we  may  legitimately  look  for  many 
of  the  designs  which  inspired  both  potters  and 
weavers.     However   dissimilar   may   be  the 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


designs  that  cover  the  field  in  Chinese  rugs, 
the  border  designs  bear  close  resemblance  to 
each  other.  In  them,  frets  and  formal  ar- 
rangements of  Chinese  motifs  antedate  the 
foliate  scroll  ornament  of  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries. 


XN  keeping  to  the  five  periods  in  the 
classification  of  Chinese  rugs,  it  is 
possible  to  describe  with  a  certain 
amount  of  accuracy  the  designs  that  are  most 
often  found  in  them.  The  field  in  many  early 
Ming  domestic  products,  in  which  the  color 
tones  are  low  and  harmonious,  carries  an  all- 
over  design  built  upon  the  regular  arrange- 
ment of  well  known  and  symbolic  forms. 
The  Joo-e  often  forms  the  design  at  the  top, 
bottom  and  sides  of  spaces  eight  or  ten  inches 
square,  the  centers  of  which  are  filled  with 
bats,  peaches,  or  signs  of  longevity,  happiness, 
or  good  luck.  Octagon  forms  are  sometimes 
spread  over  the  entire  field  of  a  rug,  carrying 
alternately  coiled  archaic  dragon  forms  and 
some  symbolic  fruits.  This  repeat  design  is 
somewhat  monotonous,  at  the  same  time  in  no 
other  Chinese  rugs  are  the  results  more 
harmonious  and  suggestive  of  native  thought. 


PLATE  XI. 


Metal  and  silk 
[4736—8.3x4. 


PLATE  XII. 

Chinese  Kirman  rug. 
[5599— 5-ox2.9| 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


NOTHER  method  of  covering  the 
field  in  early  Ming  rugs  is  to  work 
the  ground  in  solid  color,  upon  which 
are  distributed  dots  or  stripes  suggestive  of 
tiger  or  leopard  skins,  which  without  doubt 
they  copied.  In  the  center  of  rugs  of  this 
class  are  large  squares  of  another  color,  in 
which  are  grouped  mythological  objects  most 
crudely  drawn.  Examination  of  the  borders 
which  commonly  surround  rugs  of  this  special 
style  is  most  helpful  in  determining  the  age 
of  specimens,  for  when  old  styles  are  copied 
in  the  field,  borders  of  late  date  are  sometimes 
used.  This  often  proves  a  rug  to  be  a  copy, 
which  otherwise  might  have  been  considered 
an  original. 

IN  early  weavings  the  borders  are  few 
in  number  and  not  very  wide  —  in 
fact  in  very  early  borders  there  appear 
only  a  few  stripes,  varying  in  color,  around 
the  entire  fabric.  In  addition  to  these  stripes, 
which  were  retained  as  outer  or  limiting  band, 
an  inner  border  was  eventually  added  carrying 
a  Swastika  fret  or  some  typically  Chinese 
geometric  form.  Signs  of  "shou"  and  bats 
were  used  as  over-laid  ornaments  upon  these 

^  I 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


frets.  A  favorite  method  of  decoration  with 
early  weavers  consisted  in  placing  archaic 
dragon  forms  in  conventional  corner  designs, 
and  using  the  same  motif  in  the  central 
medallion,  the  borders  in  such  rugs  carrying 
elongated  forms  of  the  same  dragon  scroll. 

IN  the  sumptuary  metal  and  silk  rugs 
of  the  Ming  dynasty,  weavers  gave 
themselves  greater  license  in  every 
way.  Nothing  more  ornate,  rich  and  ex- 
tremely brilliant  can  be  imagined  than  the 
rugs  they  produced.  To  the  art  rather  than 
the  craft  of  the  weaver  do  such  belong,  and 
in  ordinary  collections  they  are  rarely  seen. 
When  they  appear  they  explain  themselves. 

IN  the  K'ang-hsi  period  we  find  many 
different  styles,  each  one  more  or  less 
distinctive.  There  is  the  carrying  on 
of  the  tawny  golden  brown  color  scheme  that 
obtains  in  the  Ming  styles,  while  the  designs 
employed  show  distinctively  Persian  influence. 
The  attempt  at  formalism  which  introduced 
radiating  designs  and  a  forcing  of  foreign 
motifs  into  compartments  is  an  early  K'ang- 
hsi  method,  but  this  was  not  fully  developed 

42 


PLATE  XIII. 

Western  Lotus  rug. 
[3459— 5-IOX3-8j 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


until  later,  when  Kien-lung  weavers  adopted 
it  and  used  it  extensively.  The  Western 
Lotus  appears  in  K'ang-hsi  rugs,  drawn  in  a 
way  unlike  any  Chinese  rendering  of  plant 
form  prior  to  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  This  floral  form  with  its 
accompanying  stiffly-arranged  foliation  spreads 
over  the  field  of  rugs  that  carry  border  stripes 
of  solid  colors  of  about  the  same  general  tone 
as  those  employed  in  the  field. 


HE  aster  and  peony  are  conventional- 
ized for  all-over  decoration,  in  the 
same  way  that  the  lotus  is  used  in  this 


class  of  K'ang-hsi  rugs,  and  are  more  sugges- 
tive of  Persian  influence  than  even  the  lotus 
design.  More  frequently  too  in  the  peony 
than  in  the  lotus  design,  an  attempt  is  made 
to  introduce  floral  forms  in  the  broad  border 
stripe. 

HE  development  of  Yung-cheng  and 
Manchurian  styles  shows,  first,  a 
mingling  of  earlier  schemes  with  a 
freer  use  of  both  palette  and  decoration,  suc- 
ceeded later  on  by  a  definite  style  which  bears 
the  same  relation  to  weaving  as  do  the  enamels 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


of  Peking  to  porcelains.  Distinctly  different 
was  this  method,  which  consisted  in  outlining 
the  objects  used  in  decoration  with  con- 
trasting colors,  the  pile  of  the  outline 
being  clipped  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
a  depression,  which  threw  into  relief  the 
object  it  surrounded.  Under  whatever  in- 
fluence this  style  developed,  it  is  known  as 
Yung-cheng,  and  there  are  accounts  in  old 
records  which  testify  to  the  fact  that  the 
copying  of  Peking  enamels  in  the  eighteenth 
century  produced  this  result.  The  dark  blue 
grounds,  with  floral  decorations  in  cream, 
yellow  and  apricot,  are  presumably  of  the 
same  period  as  those  showing  ribbed  outlines 
and  relief  effects. 

ANCHURIAN  rugs  made  under  royal 
patronage  are  closely  woven,  and  in 
them  are  colors  that  differ  from  any 
found  during  the  Ming  period.  In  Man- 
churian  rugs  of  the  early  eighteenth  century, 
the  designs  assumed  a  regular  style.  Circular 
forms,  or  medallions,  were  placed  at  intervals 
over  the  field,  which  was  covered  with  an  indis- 
tinct swastika  fret  work.  The  use  of  geometric 
dragon  forms  in  these  medallions  antedates 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


the  more  frequently  found  conventionalized 
flowers.  Dragon  scrolls  and  frets  were  introduc- 
ed in  the  border.  In  early  Manchurian  rugs, 
mythological  and  symbolic  designs  alternated 
with  the  floral  arrangements  that  developed  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  Empire  about  the  same 
time.  Whether  legitimately  so  or  not,  in  the 
separation  of  Chinese  rugs  for  purposes  of 
trade  classification,  styles  have  been  appor- 
tioned to  different  localities  in  China. 

CANTON  and  Nankin  products  hold 
the  same  relation  to  each  other  in  the 
output  of  textiles  as  of  porcelains,  in 
that  a  greater  refinement  is  noticed  in  the 
designs  of  Nankin  than  in  those  of  Canton. 
Cantonese  trees,  Cantonese  rocks  and  tea- 
houses, Cantonese  renderings  of  Taoist  orna- 
ment, Cantonese  flowers  differ  from  Nankin 
floral  patterns,  just  as  Canton  Willow  pattern 
porcelains  differ  from  the  same  design  painted 
in  Nankin  in  the  olden  time,  or  as  the 
Nankin  design  called  "  Fitzhugh "  pattern 
differs  from  others  more  crudely  drawn.  In 
the  weavings  of  the  Shantung  Province,  de- 
signs adopted  by  weavers  in  all  the  other 
parts  of  the  Empire  have  been  copied,  and  in 

^45  ^ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


rugs  bearing  the  name  of  Tien-tsin  all  styles 
seem  to  have  been  gathered  up  and  exported 
under  the  general  name  of  that  port;  just  as 
in  Japan,  when  from  the  port  of  Imari  every- 
thing made  at  Arita  and  in  the  Hizen  Prov- 
ince was  shipped  to  Europe,  the  name  of  the 
port  was  given  to  wares  that  were  never  made 
there,  but  were  only  shipped  from  that  place. 
It  is  therefore  easy  to  understand  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  those  handling  the 
products  of  the  past  about  which  no  records 
can  be  found.  The  face  value  of  objects,  and 
that  only,  can  possibly  avail. 

HE  prevalence  of  mythological  ani- 
mals in  Chinese  rug  designs  is  a  note- 
worthy feature.  Dogs  in  vast  numbers 
appear  playing  with  balls  and  spherical  objects 
which  serve  them  as  charms.  Dragons  seek 
their  pearls,  Ky-lins  with  sprays  of  fungus  in 
their  mouths  lift  their  timid  heads,  and  the 
gorgeous  Fung-hwang  lends  its  plumage  to 
decorative  effects.  Mythical  personages  are 
represented  by  their  emblems,  these  being 
floral  or  otherwise  according  to  the  legends 
about  them  interpreted  in  design.  Things 
that  symbolize  ideas  are  meaningful  as  they 

-f-  46 


PLATE  XIV. 

Gold  and  azure  rug. 
[5585—6.10x4.0] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


stand  related  to  prevalent  beliefs  and  supersti- 
tions, and  a  single  flower  or  emblem  may  at 
once  suggest  some  historic  sequence  or  the 
relation  of  one  important  event  to  another. 

HE  use  of  certain  designs  at  certain 
periods  necessitates  a  constant  rever- 
sion to  the  history  of  the  Empire  as 
the  only  means  of  obtaining  a  clue  to  the 
reasons  why  they  were  selected ;  for  example, 
there  are  certain  Mohammedan  designs  in 
products  of  the  Kien-lung  period  which  have 
borne  without  explanation  the  name  of 
Kashgarian.  This  may  be  explained  by  the 
historic  fact  that  one  of  the  favorites  of  Kien- 
lung  was  a  Kashgarian  princess,  for  whom  he 
ordered  built  a  special  mosque  near  the  royal 
residence  in  Peking,  and  for  whose  use  he 
procured  much  that  was  not  in  the  least  sug- 
gestive of  the  native  religions  in  China  or 
Buddhism,  but  savored  wholly  of  Moslem 
thought  and  ideas. 

QASSING  to  the  consideration  of  the 
tendency  to  mingle  mythological  de- 
signs with  geometric  and  naturalistic 
ornamentation,  we  find  it  impossible  to  secure 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


any  clue  to  the  reasons  for  some  of  the  combina- 
tions of  styles.  Very  rarely  is  any  definite  plan 
demonstrated,  as  in  an  important  rug  in  which 
a  picture  is  reproduced  in  wools.  In  the 
details  of  the  composition  Perso-Chinese  in- 
fluences are  introduced,  but  native  Chinese 
superstition  is  illustrated  in  the  design.  It  is 
considered  an  auspicious  omen  for  swallows 
and  sacred  animals  to  approach  a  dwelling,  as 
they  are  supposed  to  bring  good  luck  and  to 
avert  evil.*  In  this  design  the  deer  is  walking 
up  the  steps  and  birds  hover  over  the  roof  of 
the  house. 

HE  design  in  rug  No.  8965  suggests 
the  myths  and  legends  of  China  con- 
nected with  the  sacred  mountain 
rising  from  the  waves,  and  has  to  do  entirely 
with  native  design  without  outside  influence  of 
any  kind  whatever.  The  story  of  the  sacred 
mountain  lends  itself  to  the  imagination  of 
the  Chinese  artist  in  whatever  method  of  ex- 
pression he  adopts.     In  the  olden  days  this 


*The  coming  of  swallows  and  their  making  their  nests  in 
a  new  place,  whether  dwelling  house  or  store,  is  hailed  as  an  omen 
of  approaching  success  or  a  prosperous  change  in  the  affairs  of  the 
owner  or  occupier  of  the  premises. — Doolittle. 


PLATE  XV. 


Swallow-myth  rug. 
[5432— 6.0x4.5] 


PLATE  XVI. 

Sacred  deer  rug. 
[5568—9.5x5.7] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


great  mountain  was  considered  the  God  of  the 
Tartars.  The  Sacred  Mountain  of  China,  as 
it  appears  in  ornament,  is  mythological,  for 
while  that  land  abounds  in  mountain  peaks 
of  interest,  it  is  to  the  Mountain  in  design 
that  allusion  is  here  made.  At  the  center  of 
all  things  it  arose  from  the  ocean  of  eternity. 
It  had  to  do  with  elemental  conditions  and 
was  the  first  material  manifestation  when  all 
was  void.  The  mountain  in  Mongolian 
ornament  is  often  pictured  as  having  five 
peaks,  sometimes  only  three.  As  an  emblem 
in  the  hand  of  the  Pearly  Emperor  and  the 
Taoist  priest,  it  is  represented  as  a  single 
peak,  as  is  also  the  case  when  the  symbol  is 
held  by  Confucius.  This  emblem,  together 
with  the  sceptre  and  the  fungus,  have  become 
known  and  verified  features  in  Chinese  orna- 
ment. 


ANY  primitive  peoples  have  believed 
that  the  souls  of  the  righteous 
mounted  to  heaven  from  the  branches 
of  trees  or  high  mountains,  and  for  this  reason 
revered  mountains  are  sometimes  pictured  in 
early  art  as  bearing  a  crest  or  crown  of  stars. 

-h  49  -s- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


Star  myths  have  in  this  way  become  in- 
timately associated  with  legends  of  mountains, 
and  deities  presiding  over  the  events  of  life 
are  by  imaginative  mortals  given  special  stars 
for  their  abode.  The  clouds,  too,  form  part 
of  the  conventionalized  ornament  that  bears 
directly  upon  these  considerations.  In  the 
constellation  of  Ursa  Major,  the  "  Great 
ruler "  was  supposed  by  the  Mongolians  to 
reside. 

IN  sixteenth  century  carpets  the  cloud 
forms  representing  this  constellation 
and  the  star  circles  themselves  are 
preserved,  but  in  later  copies  the  cloud  form 
remains  with  loss  of  meaning  as  a  simple 
ornamental  design.  The  fungus,  or  Joo-e,  is 
sometimes  mistaken  for  a  cloud  form  in  orna- 
ment, and  care  is  necessary  in  deciphering 
and  determining  forms  and  their  derivation 
and  meaning.  When  the  Mongolian  Tartar, 
three  hundred  years  ago,  wished  to  represent 
Paradise,  he  threw  over  the  field  of  his  rug  a 
design  which  resembled  twisted  ribbons  and 
flowing  bands,  which  threaded  their  way 
through  numberless  cloud  forms  which  con- 
nected small  circles  and  discs  representing 


PLATE  XVII. 

Swastika  medallion  rug. 
1 5596 — 4-2x2.2] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


stars.  Later  thought  developed  this  design 
in  East  India  and  Persia,  and  Mohammedan 
influence  introduced  symbolic  representations 
which  deviated  entirely  from  the  original  and 
early  thought. 

IN  No.  4988,  the  dragon  horse  occu- 
pies the  center  of  the  field  and  lion 
dogs  appear  at  either  end.  In  No. 
5448  the  crane  is  pictured  flying  among  the 
clouds,  the  messenger  of  the  God  of  Longev- 
ity and  the  oft  chosen  symbol  of  mortal 
success.  The  wild  swan,  the  wild  goose,  the 
stork  and  the  crane  figure  in  significant  ways 
in  rug  designs  as  well  as  in  other  Chinese 
ornament.  The  white  crane  and  the  tortoise 
were  supposed  to  dwell  in  the  "  Isles  of  the 
Genii,"  off  the  eastern  coast  of  China,  and 
they,  with  other  emblems  of  longevity,  are 
frequently  portrayed  in  Chinese  art. 

eUG  No.  5568*  shows  Persian  influence 
in  the  treatment  of  the  tree  form, 
which  rises  from  rocks  and  covers  the 
entire  field  with  spreading  branches.  On  either 
side  of  the  rocks  are  spotted  deer,  one  of 
which  holds  a  spray  of  sacred  fungus  in  his 

-+  51  -K 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


mouth.  A  corrosive  band  surrounds  the  rug, 
and  the  colors,  design  and  weave  testify  to  its 
eighteenth  century  origin.  Here  we  find  the 
tree  peony  with  the  blossoms  drawn  in  two 
ways,  both  of  which  are  found  in  regular 
designs  and  are  only  different  drawings  of  the 
same  flower.  The  tree  as  such  in  Chinese 
rugs  is  extremely  rare.  As  drawn  in  this  rug, 
animals  appear  at  its  base.  The  significance 
is  mythological  and  without  doubt  the  inten- 
tion is  to  denote  the  preference  shown  for 
special  trees,  fruits,  etc.,  by  the  sacred 
animals.  Here  we  find  the  deer  with  a  spray 
of  longevity  fungus  in  his  mouth  as  chosen 
food.  Large  butterflies  feed  on  the  leaves 
of  the  tree.  In  color  this  rug  is  most 
pleasing.  The  field  of  fawn  color  carries  the 
tree  and  leaves  in  yellow  tan.  The  blossoms, 
some  of  them,  are  light  and  some  dark  blue. 
Others  are  of  varying  shades  of  tan.  The 
borders  are  harmonious  and  do  not  show  the 
strong  contrasts  that  sometimes  prove  dis- 
turbing. 


Chapter  VI. 

THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  RUGS 
ACCORDING  TO  DESIGN. 

ILLUSTRATING  geometric  designs 
of  the  "early  Ming"  period,  and 
those  which  combined  archaic  scroll, 
fret  and  animal  designs  formally  arranged  with 
the  geometric,  the  following  rugs  furnish  ex- 
cellent examples:  Nos.  3908,  4901,4910, 
4980,^  5504,  5598,  5490,  4983.  Rugs  of  this 
class  invariably  carry  either  plain  bands  of 
color,  or  simple  geometric  designs  in  the 
borders,  and  are  apt  to  be  surrounded  by  an 
outer  limiting  band  of  dark  corrosive  brown. 

OF  similar  nature,  great  beauty  of  color, 
technical  precision  of  weaving,  but  of 
different    though   typical   design,  is 
No.  5449.    The  warp  and  woof  in  this  rug 

^  53  ^ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


answer  the  requirements  that  this  type  of 
Ming  product  demands,  and  are  crudely  pre- 
pared. In  both  field  and  border  a  soft  dull 
yellow  tone  prevails.  Scattered  over  the 
field  and  occupying  its  entire  surface,  with 
the  exception  of  the  square  central  reserve 
measuring  about  4x4  feet,  is  a  repetitive 
design  consisting  of  wavy  dark  brown  lines. 
While  not  resembling  tiger  skin  absolutely, 
this  design  bears  that  name.  The  central 
reserve,  formed  on  the  yellow  ground  by  out- 
lined bands  of  light  and  dark  blue,  is  filled 
with  crude  and  elemental  designs,  copied  from 
the  first  or  early  period  in  the  historic  orna- 
ment of  China.  There  are  vases,  copies  of 
bronzes,  receptacles  for  sacred  fruits,  objects 
and  utensils  of  significance  and  several  crude- 
ly drawn  mythical  monsters.  The  design  in 
the  border  of  the  rug  is  of  a  most  simple 
nature  of  geometric  form.  Sapphire  and  sky 
blue,  tan,  rich  gold  color,  fruit  red  and  cor- 
rosive brown  are  the  colors  found  in  this  rug 
and  others  of  the  same  period.  These  colors 
vary  in  tone,  the  earlier  rugs  having  faded  to 
softer  shades  or  having  been  originally  dyed 
in  lower  key.  The  robing  egg  blue  found  in 
the  oldest  rugs  of  this  style  is  of  great  beauty. 

*4*  54  *H_ 


PLATE  XVIII 


Cloud-band  medallion  rug. 
i — 9.4x6.9] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


HOUGH  much  worn,  rug  No.  5573 
shows  in  perfect  condition  the  design 
of  dark  blue  upon  a  tan  background. 
The  corners  are  geometric.  Above  and  be- 
low the  central  medallion,  which  is  entirely 
geometric,  six  archaic  dragon-headed  crea- 
tures with  foliate  and  bifurcated  tails,  disport 
themselves.  The  outer  border  of  corrosive 
brown  has  worn  away  so  that  the  web  is 
distinctly  shown  and  may  be  compared  with 
specimen  rugs  of  the  period.  The  colors  as 
well  as  designs  adhere  to  the  type. 

IN  design,  No.  5582  differs  from  others 
of  the  same  class,  as  the  central 
medallion  and  corner  spaces  are  not 
geometric  but  are  filled  with  archaic  dragons 
or  scrolls  based  upon  them.  Four  geometric 
corners  describe  a  square  outside  the  central 
medallion.  In  No.  5574,  six  dragons  sur- 
round a  central  medallion  and  a  dragon  form  is 
in  each  of  the  four  corners.  This  rug  is  sur- 
rounded by  two  geometric  borders  and  one 
band  of  corrosive  brown.  No.  5565  shows 
in  both  medallion  and  inner  corners  geometric 
designs,  and  three  dragons  appear  in  the  field 
at  the  top  and  bottom.    These  rugs,  with  a 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


few  other  well  known  authenticated  speci- 
mens, constitute  an  honorable  company  of 
antiques  at  whatever  period  they  were  woven. 
They  antedate  any  other  Chinese  rugs  obtain- 
able at  the  present  time. 

DO  5567  gives  an  all-over  octagonal 
and  square  design  with  swastikas  in 
the  intersections,  and  floral  motifs  in 
each  octagonal  form.  A  running  swastika 
design  is  found  in  the  single  border.  No. 
5581*  and  No.  5505*  are  of  the  same  period 
of  weaving  but  different  in  design.  In  both, 
sacred  objects  are  outlined  on  a  plain  field, 
sacrificial  cups,  pots,  jars  and  plates,  fruits, 
censers,  receptacles  for  altar  implements, 
chess-boards,  an  abacus  and  stands  for  scrolls, 
books,  etc.  The  introduction  of  dull  per- 
simmon red  in  the  inner  border  of  this  latter 
rug  is  to  be  noted,  as  later  the  persimmon 
shade  deepened  in  rugs  which  were  made  as 
copies  of  the  older  period.  All  the  objects 
used  in  design  are  of  archaic  form  and  the  rug 
is  invaluable  as  a  repository  of  the  early  and 
significant  art  of  China.  Careful  analysis  of 
the  fabric  gives  conclusive  and  convincing 
testimony  concerning  its  age  and  merit. 

$  6  -1— 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


E  pass  from  the  geometric  styles  of  the 
late  Ming  and  early  K'ang-hsi  periods 
into  the  later  developments  based  upon 
Persian  influence,  which  resulted  in  the  con- 
ventionalization of  floral  and  vegetable  forms 
and  in  the  gradual  supplanting  in  the  borders 
of  archaic,  by  floral  designs.  First  there  was 
the  substituting  of  only  floral  borders,  then 
the  placing  of  naturally  drawn  flowers  around, 
above  and  below  the  central  geometric 
medallion,  where  dragon  scrolls  (5475)  or 
only  conventionalized  ornament  had  pre- 
viously appeared.  Several  uses  of  this  new 
style  are  noted  in  old  rugs.  In  the  corner 
spaces  and  medallions,  geometric  dragon  forms 
are  placed  with  flowers  and  butterflies  between 
them  (5508)  and  over  the  field  copies  of  old 
bronzes  are  interspersed  with  fungus-looking 
growths,  Buddha's  fingers,  peaches,  stands, 
implements,  etc.,  the  wide  border  being  floral. 

IN  No.  5526  are  most  carefully  drawn 
objects,  books,  pencils,  jars,  censers 
and  scroll  stands.  In  No.  5528,  both 
the  scrolls  and  flowers  in  the  corner,  and 
central  medallion  illustrate  the  style,  the  only 
trace  of  the  fret  being  in  the  corners.  There 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


are  two  floral  borders,  one  of  which  is  com- 
posed of  tripods,  flowers,  and  stands,  very 
unusual  and  significant.  The  inner  border  is 
dotted  with  signs  of  "shou."  A  cloud  band 
outlines  the  central  medallion,  and  rocks  are 
shown  in  the  design  conventionally  drawn. 

QO  5538  has  larger  and  more  highly 
conventionalized  flowers.  In  No. 
5522  there  is  no  floral  border  at  all. 
The  corners  and  medallions  show  fret  work, 
but  no  suggestion  of  the  dragon  save  the  head. 
In  No.  5546  we  lose  entirely  all  geometric 
forms,  not  even  having  the  dot  in  the  inner 
border.  Discs  in  the  outer  border  are  the 
principal  Chinese  feature.  No.  5499  belongs 
to  the  strictly  floral  and  precious  objects 
variety,  only  slight  suggestion  of  scroll  work 
appearing  in  the  central  medallion.  In  the 
design  are  peacock  feathers,  sprays  of  coral, 
fans,  etc.  In  No.  5516,  six  large  floral  forms 
and  four  smaller  ones  fill  the  field.  In  the 
inner  medallion  the  Fung-hwang  and  the 
dragon  horse  appear.  In  No.  5576*  a  floral 
scroll  is  shown,  combined  with  medallions  and 
corners  of  dragon  scrolls.  These  extend  all 
around  the  border,  alternating  with  a  con- 


PLATE  XIX. 

Moslem-blue  rug. 
[5467—8.3x5.3] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


ventional  form  often  copied  from  porcelains. 

E  are  led  by  a  close  study  of  floral 
designs  to  a  careful  consideration  of 
the  flowers  themselves  which  are  used 
in  conventionalization.  At  first  they  look 
alike,  but  later,  when  subdivisions  are  in  order, 
copies  of  Persian  styles  may  readily  be  dis- 
tinguished from  those  showing  Chinese 
methods  of  conventionalization.  The  aster, 
peony,  horse-chestnut,  chrysanthemum,  azalea 
and  various  orchids  are  sometimes  drawn 
naturalistically  but  more  often  in  a  highly 
conventional  manner. 

QROCEEDING  in  the  consideration  of 
the  application  of  design,  we  find  that 
the  use  of  a  single  medallion  antedates 
the  use  of  many  medallions  in  the  field.  A 
late  arrangement  shows  a  well  bal- 
anced ornament  above  and  below  the 
central  medallion,  so  arranged  as  com- 
pletely to  fill  the  space.  No.  5594  is  thus 
arranged;  No.  5596*  also,  though  the  latter 
has  a  central  medallion  in  which  are  swastikas. 
There  are  swastikas  in  each  corner  and  the 
design  combines  geometric  and  floral  forms. 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


MOST  interesting  combination  of 
floral  and  dragon  forms  is  shown  in 
Rug  No.  5487.  Adapting  designs  to 
place  is  a  feature  of  late  eighteenth  century 
work,  examples  of  which  may  be  noted  in  Nos. 

5586,  5449,  5539^552$,  549°,  5585*>  55*7- 
While  there  are  slight  differences  in  arrange- 
ment, similar  flowers  are  used  in  the  same 
way  in  all  of  the  rugs.  In  No.  5449  is  a 
most  powerful  rendering  of  the  heavy  floral 
form  called  by  some  chrysanthemum  and  by 
other  the  mowtan  or  tree  peony.  In  No. 
5490  a  more  naturalistic  drawing  is  notice- 
able, and  cloud  bands  surround  the  medallion. 


REES  and  plants  in  boxes  and  jardin- 
ieres copy  old  designs  in  the  field  of 
rug  No.  5453,  but  the  border  designs 
are  late.  In  No.  5521,  use  is  made  of  large 
blossoms  in  the  design  which  is  strictly  floral. 
There  are  dashes  of  white  in  the  foliations  in 
the  border  of  rug  No.  5539  and  a  piquant 
fresh  handling  of  the  oft  used  peony  motif. 
European  influence  is  shown  in  the  drawing 
of  the  design.  In  No.  5446  the  central 
medallion  appears   with  a   wide  encircling 

60 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


border,  which  serves  as  an  outer  rim.  In  the 
central  space  are  mythological  lions  playing 
with  their  balls.  In  the  corners,  dragon- 
head scrolls  are  combined  with  a  late  render- 
ing of  the  peony  form. 

HOLLOWING  closely  the  development 
in  the  use  of  design,  we  find  the  appear- 
ance of  several  medallions  laid  either 
upon  a  plain  or  an  all-over  decorated  field. 
These  medallions  became  very  elaborate  in  late 
eighteenth  century  rugs,  and  combined  geomet- 
ric, mythological  and  floral  elements  which  are 
often  meaningless  and  purely  decorative,  but 
perhaps  more  beautiful  on  that  account,  for 
the  lack  of  symbolic  design  in  Chinese  art  is 
not  always  considered  a  loss.  The  building 
up  of  these  medallion  forms  is  of  interest,  as 
the  central  ornament  in  them  is  often  unre- 
lated to  their  outer  border. 

IN  No.  5566  a  very  simple  use  is  made 
of  five  medallions,  the  center  one  be- 
ing considerably  larger  than  the  others. 
Significant  objects  of  one  sort  and  another 

-J-6l 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


alternate  with  floral  sprays  which  fill  the  field 
between  the  medallions.  The  outer  border 
of  the  rug  carries  peonies  with  foliate  ornamen- 
tation, and  in  the  inner  border  is  a  T  fret. 

DO.  5542  is  an  eight  medallion  rug, 
and  the  floral  design  and  butterflies 
are  so  arranged  over  the  field  as  to 
give  balance  to  the  whole.  Were  it  not  for 
an  occasional  sign  of  "shou"  in  the  broad 
border,  there  would  be  no  suggestion  of 
meaning  in  the  design  in  this  rug.  The  five 
medallion  rug,  No.  55  1  5,  has  a  symmetrically 
arranged  field,  an  inner  T  border  and  an  outer 
border  showing  peony  foliation  in  the  design. 
Light  leaves  and  dark  leaves,  but  no  shaded 
leaves  appear.  In  No.  5547  are  four 
scalloped-edged  medallions,  and  a  large 
central  floral  medallion,  formed  of  sprays  of 
open  blossoms  and  buds.  Close  analysis  of 
these  floral  designs  enables  us  to  place  the 
period  of  the  rug  itself.  Comparison  with 
porcelains  shows  exactly  the  same  variations 
in  treatment,  use  of  shading,  perspective, 
drawing,  etc.  and  they  all  are  as  late  as  Kien- 
lung  and  chronicle  the  story  of  European 
influence   upon   both   potters   and  weavers. 


PLATE  XX. 

Persimmon-color  rug. 
[5540—8.2x5.4] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


IN  this  rug  archaic  dragons  appear  in 
the  border,  at  the  corners  and  at  both 
sides.  They  face  and  guard  one  of 
the  signs  of  "shou.',  Many  of  the  Po-ku, 
or  Hundred  Antiques,  and  various  other 
precious  objects  appear  in  the  field  of  this 
rug;  books  in  cases,  a  chess-board,  a  lute, 
partly  covered,  and  scrolls,  and  the  significant 
fruits,  peach,  pomegranate,  etc.  At  the  top 
and  bottom  of  the  field  are  jars  in  which 
sprays  and  branches  are  being  forced  for  the 
New  Year.  Use  is  made  in  the  five  medal- 
lions of  full-blown  chrysanthemum  or  peony 
motifs  without  foliage;  the  corners  are 
geometric.  Both  the  borders  show  Samarcand 
and  Mongolian  influence.  In  No.  5537  a 
light-weight  flower  arrangement  obtains  in 
the  medallions,  but  heavy,  large  blossoms  are 
arranged  across  the  field,  interspersed  by 
butterflies  and  the  meaningful  fruits,  peach, 
pomegranate,  etc. 


PLATE  XXI. 


Grains-of-rice  r 
[5549—8.2x5. 


PLATE  XXII. 


Nine  lion  rug. 

[5468-8.3x5.6] 


Chapter  VII. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  RUGS 
ACCORDING  TO  COLOR. 

AVING  made  most  careful  classification 
of  rugs  in  strict  adherence  to  methods 
suggested,  so  that  it  is  possible  to  form 
an  opinion  at  a  glance  as  to  which  of  the  live 
great  styles  a  design  belongs,  it  is  necessary, 
before  determining  the  age  of  each  rug 
examined,  to  study  both  color  and  weave  in 
addition  to  the  design.  Only  in  this  way 
is  it  possible  to  establish  belief  concerning  the 
age  of  the  specimen  itself.  For  example,  in 
rug  No.  5454*  both  web  and  color  sustain  the 
opinion  that  the  rug  is  an  early  eighteenth 
century  specimen.  The  coloring  is  monotone 
in  effect,  although  the  imperial  yellow  field 
is  checquered  faintly  with  reddish  brown, 

-j-  65  -h- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


and  light  blue  bands  outline  the  central 
medallion  and  appear  in  the  borders,  giving 
great  value  to  the  accentuating  tints.  The 
corrosive  brown  is  almost  entirely  gone  and 
the  designs  are  therefore  thrown  into  high 
relief.  Very  little  remains  of  the  outer  band 
that  originally  surrounded  the  entire  rug. 
Examination  of  the  materials  used  establishes 
the  belief  that  the  testimony  of  both  color 
and  design  is  correct,  and  that  the  fabric  is 
of  the  early  eighteenth  century. 

HE  yellow  color  of  the  field  in  No. 
5  1 21  is  the  same  as  in  No.  5454*,  but 
because  of  the  use  of  deep  sapphire 
blue  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  colors  in 
the  design,  the  general  tone  of  rug  5 1 2 1 
appears  deeper  than  5454*,  and  more  like  the 
rugs  of  an  earlier  period,  bearing  dragon 
scroll  designs.  Both  of  these  rugs  belong  to 
the  first  great  period  in  the  classification  of 
Chinese  rugs,  and  are  either  late  Ming  or  early 
K'ang-hsi  weavings  or  copies  of  these  styles 
made  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Some- 
times an  older  rug  is  better  preserved  than  the 
later  copy  of  it  which  has  been  much  worn. 

66 


f 


)f  the  ma 
t  the  test 


PLATE  XXIII. 

Literati  rug. 
[5479— 9-Ix5.9] 


her  la 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


elVING  prominence  to  color  instead  of 
design,  a  study  of  Nos.  4978,  5588  and 
5600  will  lead  the  thought  in  a  little 
different  way.  In  No.  4978  we  have  in  the 
field  a  brown  red  which  has  faded  to  a 
yellow.  Dark  and  light  blue  and  tan  are  the 
colors  used  in  the  design.  In  No.  5588  the 
ground  is  of  a  light  tan,  a  shade  which  often 
is  the  result  of  time  upon  unbleached  wool. 
Reds,  blues  and  yellows  are  used  in  the 
design,  which  is  most  carefully  worked  out, 
showing  many  significant  and  interesting 
objects.  Emblems  following  each  other  all 
around  the  border  are  drawn  with  Kien-lung 
accuracy  and  show  great  liberality  in  the  use 
of  color,  for  even  a  mandarin  orange  color  is 
used  in  alternation  with  the  lemon  yellow 
generally  found  alone.  Buddha's  fingers, 
sprays  of  various  sorts,  baskets,  urns,  vases, 
ewers,  and  stands  with  fruit  appear  in  the 
border  designs.  At  first  sight,  the  low  tone 
this  rug  has  acquired  by  natural  fading  makes 
one  feel  that  it  belongs  to  an  earlier  period 
than  the  close  examination  of  colors  proves  to 
be  the  case.  Both  design  and  weaving 
belong  to  the  eighteenth  century,  and  pre- 
sumably to  its  Kien-lung  period. 

67  h- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


IN  archaic  design  has  been  used  in  No. 
5 1 1 9,  which  has  been  worked  in  light 
and  dark  apricot  and  yellow.  The 
surface  color  is  the  result  of  fading,  and  of  the 
disappearance  of  certain  ingredients  in  the  red 
dye,  which  has  produced  a  dull  yellow 
shimmer  that  is  most  wonderful  in  tone. 
There  are  occasional  touches  of  two  shades 
of  blue  and  one  of  tan  in  the  design.  The 
piece  is  a  Kien-lung  specimen. 

COLOR  study  of  several  rugs,  show- 
ing one  or  another  rendering  of  the 
same  idea  of  design,  may  be  made  by 
comparing  the  rugs  Numbered  4539,  5122, 
4791,  4886,  4377,  4381.  Of  several  hun- 
dred Chinese  rugs,  these  happen  to  be  the 
only  ones  in  which  the  sacred  mountain 
appears  in  the  design.  Of  these  six  rugs  no 
two  are  of  the  same  period  of  weaving,  and 
they  represent  no  less  than  three  different 
periods,  places  and  methods.  No.  4377  is 
the  latest  of  the  lot,  and  is  of  coarse  wool  and 
crude  colors.  It  is  oblong  in  shape,  of  dark 
maroon  color.  Across  the  ends  are  diagonal 
lines  in  strong  colors,  copied  from  the 
brocade  designs  used   on  Mandarins'  robes. 

-j«  68 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


The  pattern  has  been  chosen  and  arranged 
without  regard  to  significance,  and  Samarcand 
influences  are  plainly  visible  in  the  drawing 
of  the  waves  and  mountains.  The  diagonal 
lines  representing  water  are  in  green,  blue  and 
reds.  In  No.  5123,  the  design  is  augmented 
by  the  presence  of  dragons  which  fill  the 
field.  The  rug  shows  Chinese  Turkestan 
coloring  and  influence,  and  belongs  to  a  class 
sometimes  called  "  Kashgarian." 

ONDERFUL  rendering  of  the  sacred 
mountain  and  wave  design  appears  in 
4791.  The  whole  color  effect  is  yel- 
low and  blue,  without  trace  of  any  of  the  pink 
or  mandarin  orange,  which  give  an  entirely 
different  effect  to  the  color  scheme  of  No. 
5123.  In  4381,  the  design  of  the  mountain 
itself  is  of  corrosive  brown.  The  ornamenta- 
tion of  the  entire  rug  is  composite,  flowers  be- 
ing used  in  the  corners  to  balance  the  design, 
in  which  fugitive  colors  were  employed. 

DUMBER  5122  shows  a  combination  of 
geometric  and  floral  patterns,  so  care- 
fully balanced  that  they  make  a  most 
pleasing    design.      In    color    the   effect  is 

— H  69  -I- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


imperial  yellow,  though  the  field  itself  is  of 
a  brownish  yellow  faded  from  apricot.  The 
strong  imperial  yellow  is  used  generously  in 
the  design,  in  which  are  also  two  shades  of 
blue  and  cream  color,  with  occasional  touches 
of  deep  brown.  This  rug  is  easily,  in  design, 
color  and  weave,  one  hundred  years  old. 
The  designs  stand  in  high  relief,  produced  by 
cutting  away  the  wool  around  them,  not  in 
the  more  frankly  confessed  modern  way,  but 
according  to  native  methods  practiced  in  the 
Yung-cheng  and  early  Kien-lung  periods. 
Both  weaving  and  color  show  the  rug  to  be  of 
a  later  period  than  the  style  would  indicate. 

XN  blue  and  white  Chinese  rugs  the 
shades  range  from  the  color  of  un- 
bleached wool  verging  on  tan  to  the 
varying  whites,  blanc  de  chine,  ivory,  ash, 
putty  and  egg-shell.  As  rugs  developed  from 
the  old  tans  and  blues  to  the  blue  and  white 
period,  the  shades  vary  with  definite  allegi- 
ance,—  first  to  the  use,  in  the  designs,  of  deep, 
rich  sapphire  blues  which  were  laid  flatly  on 
the  white  field  in  one  color;  and  later  to  the 
combination  with  this  dark  blue  of  a  light 
and  very  marvellous  color  known  as  robin's 


PLATE  XXIV. 

Buddhist  rug. 
5469—8.9x5.8] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


egg  blue.    Rugs  Nos.  5488*,  5125,  5469*, 

5482,  5468*,  5479*,  5114,5473,5477,  5481, 

5483,  5470  are  all  approximately  of  the  same 
period.  The  two  blues  used  in  the  design 
are  almost  identical  in  the  various  rugs, 
though  in  some  the  preponderence  of  the 
light  blue  gives  rare  charm  and  interest  and 
closely  simulates  the  early  robin's  egg  blue. 

HE  distribution  of  the  design  in  No. 
5468*  is  most  attractive,  five  lion 
dogs  being  symmetrically  arranged  in 
the  field,  the  corners  carrying  the  same  animal 
design.  So  ingeniously  are  these  mythologi- 
cal animals  conventionalized  that  their  backs 
and  tails  form  sweeping  light  blue  ornamen- 
tation, which  spreads  over  the  field  as 
medallions    are  ordinarily  distributed.  Nos. 

5 11 4*  5479\5I25>  5473/  54^2,  5470,  are 
single  medallion  rugs,  while  Nos.  5488*  and 
5477  carry  eight  medallions,  and  Nos.  5469* 
and  5483  have  each  five  medallions. 

HE  central  medallion  in  No.  5469*  is 
different  in  nature  from  the  four  discs 
which  surround  it.     A  cloud  band 
makes  an  outer  circle,  and  the  alternate  light 

7  I 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


and  dark  blue  clouds  are  very  beautiful  in 
color.  Mythological  animals  in  the  two  shades 
of  blue  are  pictured  in  the  various  discs. 
The  dragon  horse,  the  Fung-hwang,  lion 
dogs  and  stag  with  horns,  mythological  birds, 
pomegranates  and  other  fruits  are  woven  in 
rich  dark  blue,  showing  the  seeds  of  the 
fruits,  stems  of  leaves,  etc.,  in  contrasting 
light  blue.  Buddhist  emblems  appear  in  the 
border, —  the  wheel,  the  conch,  the  joo-e  and 
the  knot  of  destiny. 

H STUDY  of  all  these  rugs  together  will 
show  the  similarities  and  differences 
between  the  blues  used,  and  analysis 
of  the  colored  wools  makes  it  possible  to 
determine  accurately  the  period  of  manu- 
facture. In  No.  51 14  the  field  is  of  clay  or 
putty  color.  In  quality,  design  and  color, 
this  small  specimen  reigns  supreme,  and  with 
its  companion  No.  51 15*,  makes  a  notable 
pair.  No.  5567  shows  an  introduction  of 
persimmon  red  as  ground  for  the  inner  floral 
stripe,  and  elsewhere  in  the  design  there  is  the 
addition  of  soft  colors  to  the  blue  and 
white.  In  No.  5485,  the  combination  of 
browns,  yellows  and  reds  in  the  border  gives 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


a  decidedly  polychrome  effect,  though  the 
field  is  of  tan  white,  over  which  a  conven- 
tionalized peony  design  is  spread  in  solid 
dark  blue  without  shading.  The  persim- 
mon red  in  the  key  pattern  is  true  to  period 
and  style,  and  is  quite  unlike  the  crude  shade 
that  afterward  appeared  in  copies  of  old  rugs. 

ill  HEN  shading  became  popular,  it  is 
III  an  interesting  point  to  observe  that  it 
crept  but  slowly  into  geometric  de- 
sign. First  it  was  introduced  into  the  T 
border,  and  two  shades  of  blue  were  used 
instead  of  one;  but  it  was  at  a  later  period 
that  the  swastika  fret  yielded  itself  to  the 
influence  of  the  Italian  school  and  assumed 
intricate  and  highly  ornate  forms.  In  No. 
5593,  the  ground  deepens  to  a  full  rich  tan, 
and  the  shade  of  light  blue  in  the  border 
stripe  is  unusual.  This  rug  has  as  its  com- 
panion No.  5592,  which  duplicates  it  both  in 
design  and  quality. 

HE  first  feature  of  importance  in  rug 
No.  5567  that  reveals  itself  to  the 
observer  is  the  skillful  handling  of  the 
three  colors  —  a  pinkish  red,  dark  blue,  and 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


yellow  —  in  several  of  the  discs,  which  rest 
upon  the  flower-strewn  field  without  disturb- 
ing the  harmonious  effect.  The  disc  at  the 
lower  left,  in  which  a  stag  is  drawn,  is  bal- 
anced by  an  animal  subject  in  the  disc  at  the 
upper  right.  The  other  corner  discs  carry 
floral  designs,  while  in  the  larger  central 
medallion  two  lions  or  dogs  appear.  While 
the  color  scheme  of  the  rug  is  blue  and 
white,  the  touches  of  red  and  yellow  lend 
strength  and  individuality  to  the  fabric,  as  do 
the  over-glaze  colors  sometimes  added  to  blue 
and  white  porcelains. 

B STUDY  of  yellow,  as  used  by  the 
weavers  of  China  from  early  times  to 
the  present,  is  of  importance  in  the 
analysis  of  rugs,  as  many  conclusive  facts  may 
be  verified  by  close  comparison  of  a  great 
number  of  specimens.  A  few  points  of 
importance  that  lead  to  definite  opinions  are 
readily  comprehended,  and  these  conclusions 
may  be  applied  to  any  groups  of  rugs,  as 
interpretive  and  elucidating.  The  varieties 
of  Chinese  yellow  are  known  as  imperial, 
mandarin,  tan,  lemon,  orange  and  citron,  and 
it  is  significant  that  of  these,  lemon  and  citron 

-h  74 


PLATE  XXV. 


Five  medallion  rug. 
[5496—6.8x4.6] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


yellow  are  rarely  if  ever  found  in  rugs  made 
prior  to  the  eighteenth  century,  while  antique 
yellows  never  have  the  greenish  cast  notice- 
able in  late  products. 

ARLY  Ming  and  K'ang-hsi  yellows 
merge  from  dull  tan  color  into  con- 
servative shades  of  strong  yellow  tan, 
which  evolve  into  a  rich  gold  color,  and  find 
illustration  in  No.  5133  and  other  rugs  of  the 
same  class.  Later  the  yellows  became  heavy 
with  red,  and  the  desired  effect  in  the  finished 
product  was  sometimes  produced  by  hatching 
a  ground  of  yellow  with  apricot  color,  or  by 
dotting  the  surface  with  a  "grains  of  rice" 
design  in  some  soft  shades  of  fruit  red.  No. 
5128  illustrates  this  point.  The  color  of  the 
field  thus  secured  is  monotone  in  effect, 
though  to  produce  it,  use  has  been  made  of 
two  distinct  colors,  yellow  and  apricot.  The 
rug  is  marvellous  in  many  ways,  showing  as 
it  does  the  adherence  to  old  designs  taken 
from  bronzes.  These  are  shown  in  the  discs, 
which,  on  a  light  robin's  egg  blue,  carry 
archaic  and  symbolic  designs  similar  to  those 
found  on  the  mirror  backs  of  early  dynasties. 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


DUMBER  5133  is  an  unusual  and  very 
fine  rug.  The  robin's  egg  blue  in  the 
border  and  the  dark  blue  in  the  floral 
sprays  are  superb,  adding  zest  and  vigor  to  the 
strong  tone  of  the  field  which  is  of  the 
K'ang-hsi  tan  yellow  variety.  There  are 
many  points  of  distinction  in  the  technique 
of  the  weaving,  which  indicate  the  influence 
of  the  Yung-cheng  period.  In  No.  5 1 3 1 
the  designs  are  of  great  interest,  several 
Buddhist  emblems  being  among  them  — 
the  gourd,  the  conch,  the  shell,  the  wheel, 
etc.  Lion  dogs  are  placed  at  intervals  among 
the  emblems,  as  though  attracted  by  and 
guarding  them. 

XMPERIAL  K'ang-hsi  yellow  —  a 
strong,  rich  yellow  of  golden  hue  — 
is  well  shown  in  the  lustrous  wool  of 
rug  No.  5153*.  Ten  small  discs  rest  upon  a  field 
of  solid  yellow,  the  further  ornamentation  con- 
sisting of  flower  forms  symmetrically  arranged 
as  corners,  and  a  floral  border  of  great  beauty. 
Varying  shades  of  yellow  are  prevalent  in  the 
industrial  arts  of  China,  and  in  speaking  of 
imperial  yellow  reference  is  made  only  to  a 
color  which  bears  that  name.    This  does  not 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


necessarily  suggest  that  the  object  was  made 
for  Imperial  use. 

HE  field  in  No.  5521  deepens  into 
full  yellow  of  a  shade  that  antedates 
that  used  in  5 1 53*.  Upon  this  field  are 
designs  that  deserve  close  study.  Jardinieres, 
vases  of  flowers  and  flower  sprays  appear.  Em- 
blems of  the  scholar  surround  the  central 
disc, —  a  chess-board,  books,  a  lute  and 
scrolls.  These  designs  are  wrought  in  won- 
derful shades  of  blue.  Yellow  is  preserved  in 
the  borders,  thus  making  a  most  harmonious 
background  for  the  designs  in  blue  laid  upon 
it.  No.  5559  shows  a  tan  yellow,  and  an 
apricot  color  that  has  faded  to  about  the 
same  shade.  The  ground  of  the  border  stripe 
is  tan,  ornamented  with  a  double  swastika 
fret  in  dark  blue. 


CHINESE  DIRECTION  AND  COLOR  SYMBOLISM 


DIRECTIONS 

SEASONS 

COLORS 

ELEMENTS 

PLANETS 

METALS 

North 

Winter 

Black 

Water 

Mercury 

Iron 

East 

Spring 

Green 

Wood 

Jupiter 

Lead,  Tin 

South 

Summer 

Red 

Fire 

Mars 

Copper 

West 

Autumn 

White 

Metal 

Venus 

Silver 

Middle 

Yellow 

Earth 

Saturn 

Gold 

Extracted  from  Mayer's  "Chinese  Reader's  Manual." 


The  divinity  who  resides  in  Ursa  Major ;  with  Chinese  drawing 
of  stars  in  constellation. 


PLATE  XXVI. 


Archaic  lion  rug. 
[5126^-7.3x5.6] 


DESCRIPTION  OF  PLATES. 


PLATE  I. 

RCHAIC  bronze  urn  belonging  to 
the  early  period  of  Chinese  art,  orna- 
mented with  archaic  dragon  and 
geometric  forms  of  extreme  interest.  The 
lizard-like  archaic  dragon  has  been  sufficiently 
conventionalized  to  show  only  the  head,  the 
long  sinuous  body  having  given  place  to  a 
rectangular  formation  of  irregular  nature. 

PLATE  II. 

a PON  a  field  of  ashen  white,  in  rug 
No.  5 1 1  5*  the  geometric  design  in  two 
shades  of  blue  terminates  in  dragon 
heads;  while  in  No.  5462* the  heads  disappear 

^79^ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


entirely  and  the  geometric  design  which  has 
evolved  from  animal  form  alone  remains. 
The  field  of  this  rug  has  faded  to  a  surface  of 
copper  color,  and  the  blues  of  two  shades  in 
the  design  are  superb. 


PLATE  III, 


CHERE  is  an  indication  in  the  design 
of  rug  No.  5132*  that  motifs  of 
ornament  were  rearranged  especially 
for  the  use  of  weavers  in  the  early  Ming 
period.  The  rug  itself  is  of  the  K'ang-hsi 
period  in  weave  and  color,  though  the  design 
shows  Ming  use  of  archaic  ornament.  The 
formation  of  the  fret  in  the  border  is  unlike 
later  drawing  of  the  swastika.  It  consists  of 
two  T  forms  placed  together  in  such  a  way 
as  to  form  disconnected  sections,  quite  unlike 
the  running  swastika  fret  of  a  later  period. 
The  six  dragons  are  placed  on  the  field  most 
symmetrically,  and  their  foliated  bodies  and 
bifurcated  tails  suggest  the  scroll  work  that 
was  later  based  upon  them.  In  color  the  rug 
belongs  to  the  tan  and  blue  variety.  The 
corrosive  brown  in  the  limiting  border  has 
worn  away  the  wool  from  the  surface.  The 

-I-  80  -5- 


PLATE  XXVII. 

Eight  medallion  rug. 
[5488—10.6x5.6] 


PLATE  XXVIII. 

Ten  medallion  rug. 
[5153—H.10X7.8] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


design  claims  greater  age  than  the  fabric, 
though  the  rug  is  an  antique  of  rare  quality 
and  merit. 

PLATE  IV. 

^^^^YTHICAL  monsters  fill  a  large  cen- 
111  tral  form  which  is  outlined  in  blue 
and  corrosive  brown.  The  main 
color  of  the  rug  is  yellow,  and  a  matchless 
blue  and  corrosive  brown  are  introduced  in 
the  design.  In  the  outer  border  the  design 
stands  out  in  high  relief  from  the  back- 
ground, which  has  corroded.  The  central 
reserve,  formed  on  the  yellow  field,  observes 
the  outline  of  an  old  mirror  back.  Noth- 
ing more  significantly  demonstrates  the  fact 
that  designs  in  bronze  were  copied  by 
weavers  than  the  examination  of  the  medal- 
lions which  figure  in  the  field  of  rugs. 
Although  at  first  glance  the  discs  scattered  at 
regular  intervals  or  in  the  center  seem  to 
bear  close  resemblance  to  each  other,  analysis 
of  their  formation  will  reveal  the  fact  that 
they  differ.  They  have  been  carefully 
selected,  and  invariably  copy  floral  or  geomet- 
ric forms  used  by  workers  in  bronze  and 

H-  8l  »K 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


porcelain.  There  are  the  lotus,  the  peony, 
the  water-chestnut,  and  many  star  and  octa- 
gonal formations  that  give  names  to  the 
decorative  forms  evolving  from  them. 

plate  v. 

ORIGINALLY  brownish  apricot,  the 
surface  of  the  field  in  rug  No.  5581 
has  faded  to  a  soft  yellow.  In  the 
design  are  yellows  of  differing  shades,  dark 
and  light  blue,  apricot  and  cream  color. 
Though  over  thirty  objects  appear  in  the 
design,  one  of  great  interest,  the  Abacus,  gives 
its  name  to  the  rug,  because  of  the  rarity  of 
its  use  in  design.  Each  object  in  the  design 
is  outlined  with  contrasting  color  which, 
while  it  accentuates,  also  softens  the  effect 
and  blends  details. 

PLATE  VI. 

DUMBER  5509  is  an  old  K'ang-hsi 
product  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
decorated  with  carefully  drawn  "pre- 
cious objects"  on  a  deep  tan  field.  There  are 
vases  copied  from  old  bronzes ;  receptacles  for 


PLATE  XXIX. 

Thirteen  medallion  rug. 
[5536—8.5x5.2] 


J 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


sacred  fruits,  plants  and  flowers;  altar  utensils 
and  scrolls  and  other  articles  of  great  signifi- 
cance. The  fading  to  dull  yellow  of  wools 
originally  an  apricot  color  is  a  notable  feature  in 
rugs  of  this  age  and  class.  Fugitive  colors  of 
later  date  show  none  of  the  characteristics 
belonging  to  these  old  specimens. 


PLATE  VII. 

COMBINATION  of  geometric  forms 
and  dragons'  heads  is  found  in  the 
central  medallion,  corners  and  border, 
in  rug  No.  5576.  The  field  of  the  rug, 
which  is  of  yellow  tan,  is  seen  through  a 
conventionalized  foliation  which  entirely 
covers  it.  Upon  this  cream-colored  scroll 
work,  large  floral  forms  are  laid  in  shades  of 
blue.  The  design  in  the  border  belongs  to 
the  earliest  period  and  consists  in  rectangular 
dragon  forms  between  foliate  scrolls.  The 
brown  dye  has  somewhat  corroded  the  surface 
of  the  outer  border.  The  fabric  has  been 
bound  with  velvet  in  order  to  protect  the  edge. 

-i-  8  2  -1- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


PLATE  VIII. 

a PON  a  deep  rich  yellow  tan  in  rug 
No.  5580,  divisions  are  bounded  by 
dark  blue  forms  in  each  of  which  is 
a  significant  object  in  a  deeper  shade  of  tan. 
Two  bats  in  one  space  —  a  peach  of  longevity 
in  another.  The  border  in  blue  and  tan 
carries  a  running  swastika  design. 

PLATE  IX. 

HNOTHER  of  the  blue  and  tan  variety 
belonging  to  the  early  Ming  school 
of  design  is  rug  No.  5579.  An  all- 
over  swastika  fret  in  blue  is  placed  upon  a 
field  of  tan.  Bats  in  tan  color  are  scattered 
over  the  fret,  imposed  upon  it.  A  plain 
band  of  light  blue  surrounds  the  field,  and  in 
the  wide  border  a  running  swastika  fret 
appears  in  tan  and  blue. 

PLATE  X. 

HOWN  in  rug  No.  4389  is  a  most 
wonderful    rendering    of  primitive 
design,  the  fabric  itself  bearing  evi- 
dence  to  several  hundred   years'  existence. 

84 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


Both  warp  and  weft  are  of  silk,  and  the  pile 
also  is  of  silk  of  fine  quality.  The  field  is  of 
rich  dark  blue,  and  the  designs  are  worked  in 
soft  shades  of  peach-blow,  apricot,  yellows  and 
jade-green.  Dragons  with  five  toes,  sug- 
gestive of  those  found  on  divining  boards,  are 
placed  alternately  with  objects  indicative  of 
official  life. 

PLATE  XI. 

NOTHER  sumptuous  rug  of  the 
Ming  metal  and  silk  variety  is  shown 
in  No.  4736.  The  entire  effect  of 
color  in  this  rug  is  silver  and  blue,  made  soft 
and  delicate  by  age  and  the  tarnish  of  the 
metal  employed  in  the  background.  The 
design  stands  in  relief  upon  this  background 
and  is  worked  in  silk. 

PLATE  XII. 

CHINESE  adaptation  of  foreign 
motifs  gives  great  interest  to  the 
design  in  rug  No.  5599.  As  interest 
and  study  in  Chinese  art  increase  it 
becomes  more  and  more  possible  to  note  the 

8  $  -J- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


parallelism  that  exists  between  the  art  of  the 
Eastern  and  Western  Orient.  The  outcome 
of  the  mingling  of  styles  has  produced  very 
definite  results,  which  may  generally  be 
traced  to  their  respective  sources.  Occa- 
sionally, however,  one  is  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  certain  individual  rugs,  the  designs  in 
which  are  difficult  to  trace.  At  first  glance 
this  appears  to  be  an  antique  Kirman  rug,  so 
distinctive  is  its  appearance,  and  so  rigid  and 
compact  the  fabric.  Analysis  of  the  weave 
strengthens  this  opinion.  The  design  and 
color  scheme  are  of  the  Chinese  Turkestan 
variety,  however,  and  indicate  an  East  Indian 
origin.  The  web  of  the  rug  is  cotton  and 
the  pile  is  of  soft,  fine  wool.  Whether  a 
Kirman  weaver  adopted  Chinese  styles  and 
colors,  or  a  Chinese  colorist  adopted  Kirman 
methods  to  Chinese  designs  cannot  be  fully 
demonstrated,  but  there  is  enough  that  is 
illustrative  of  both  Chinese  and  Kirman  styles 
to  call  this  beautiful  product  of  the  loom  a 
Chinese-Kirman  rug.  In  the  province  of 
Fars  in  Southwestern  Persia,  rugs  similar  to 
this  were  made  in  the  sixteenth  century 
by  the  descendants  of  the  Mongolians  who 
centuries  before  had  settled  there. 


PLATE  XXX. 

Sacred  mountain  mats. 

a.  [5122 — 2.2x2.3] 

b.  [5123 — 2.2x2.3] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


PLATE  XIII. 

HE  forcing  of  designs  into  compart- 
ments, wherein  details  could  be 
symmetrically  and  conventionally  ar- 
ranged, was  one  of  the  features  of  the  K'ang- 
hsi  period;  and  in  rugs  made  in  the  North  of 
China  during  the  reign  of  the  great  Emperor, 
a  design  known  as  the  "western  lotus"  grew 
out  of  an  effort  to  adopt  western  ideas  and 
styles.  In  rug  No.  3459  this  design  is  shown 
to  perfection.  In  some  of  the  large  temple 
rugs  of  the  Kien-lung  period  it  is  used  as  a 
repeat,  and  lends  itself  most  acceptably  to 
whatever  use  is  required. 

PLATE  XIV. 

CONVENTIONALIZATION  of  a  dif- 
ferent sort  is  shown  in  rug  No.  5585, 
where  upon  a  yellow  ground  a  most 
unusual  flower  design  is  laid  in  blue.  The 
foliations  are  of  the  K'ang-hsi  style,  and  are 
somewhat  crude  and  angular.  The  rug  both 
in  weave  and  design  differs  from  rugs  of  a 
later  period  which  carry  an  all-over  pattern 
of  a  more  ornate  character. 

-1-  87  -**- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


PLATE  XV. 


(Described  in  text,  page  48) 

PLATE  XVI. 

(Described  in  text,  page  51) 

PLATE  XVII. 

HE  field  of  No.  5596  is  of  a  soft 
golden  yellow,  and  the  ground  of  the 
main  border  has  faded  from  apricot 
to  a  yellow  not  unlike  that  in  the  field.  In 
border,  corners,  and  central  medallion  the 
designs  are  geometric,  but  in  the  lower  and 
upper  parts  of  the  field  floral  forms  are 
symmetrically  arranged. 

PLATE  XVIII. 

DUMBER  4971  is  of  apricot  color,  and 
carries  designs  in  yellow,  cream  color 
and  persimmon  red.  Scattered  over 
the  field  are  sprays  of  orchids,  sunflowers  and 
other  blossoms.  The  large  flowers  in  the  cor- 
ners are  drawn  in  early  eighteenth  century  style. 

8  8 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


PLATE  XIX. 

a FULLER  expression  of  floral  develop- 
ment in  design  is  to  be  found  in  rug 
No.  5467,  in  which  a  riot  of  bloom 
is  apparent  and  no  formal  or  geometric 
arrangement  exists  either  in  field  or  border. 
This  rug  is  of  the  dark  blue  variety  and  is  a 
superb  specimen  of  the  style.  One  of  the 
borders  carries  butterflies  of  many  colors. 
The  treatment  of  the  flowers  in  the  design  is 
unusual.  Many  of  them  are  drawn  in  pro- 
file and  delicately  shaded.  Great  skill  is 
shown  in  composition  and  in  the  use  of  colors. 

PLATE  xx. 

WELL  balanced  design,  in  two  shades 
of  blue  and  cream  color,  covers  the 
field  in  rug  No.  5540  with  delicate 
tracery.  The  weaver  of  this  rug  has  used 
a  full  rich  persimmon  color,  which  rarely  is 
used  as  ground  color,  appearing  more  often 
in  border  stripes.  This  one  of  the  Chinese 
fruit-reds  is  more  unusual  than  any,  and  seems 
to  have  different  values  according  to  the  place 
it  occupies  in  a  design. 

-1-89-1- 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


PLATE  XXI. 


ILLUSTRATING  the  use  of  mythical 
animals  in  design  is  rug  No.  5549,  in 
which  the  Chinese  lion  or  dog 
occupies  the  central  medallion.  The  yellow 
field,  with  the  exception  of  the  corners,  is 
covered  with  a  grains-of-rice  pattern  which 
dots  the  surface  with  brown.  In  the  outer 
border,  a  T  pattern  in  two  shades  of  blue 
rests  on  a  dull,  faded  persimmon  ground. 


PLATE  XXII. 

DINE  lions  appear  in  rug  No.  5468 
upon  a  flower-strewn  field.  Most 
exceptionally  beautiful  blues  in  this 
rare  old  specimen  are  suggestive  of  a  period 
when  robin's  egg  blue,  strongly  tinged  with 
green,  was  used  with  the  rich  dark  blue  of  the 
Ming  period.  An  inner  dotted  band  im- 
mediately surrounds  the  field,  separating  it 
from  the  floral  border  in  which  the  treatment 
of  flowers  and  leaves  shows  great  technical 
refinement  and  an  attempt  to  introduce  shading. 

go 


PLATE  XXXI. 


Foliate  dragon  medallion 
[5474—6.0x3.7] 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


PLATE  XXIII. 

H MANDARIN'S  rug  most  skillfully 
wrought  is  rug  No.  5479,  carrying 
in  the  design  emblems  and  objects 
of  interest  and  significance.  The  chessboard, 
the  lyre,  scrolls  and  books  suggestive  of  the 
literati,  with  plants  and  flowers  forced  for  the 
New  Year,  are  placed  around  a  central 
medallion.  The  rug  belongs  to  the  blue  and 
white  variety.  Surrounding  the  field  are 
three  borders,  which  show  both  floral  and 
geometric  designs. 

PLATE  XXIV. 

YTHICAL  animals  again  appear  in 
No.  5469,  in  medallions  of  great  in- 
terest. The  Ky-lin  and  Fung-hwang 
in  two  of  the  medallions  and  dogs  or  lions  in 
the  other  two  are  drawn  in  shades  of  blue. 
The  field  of  the  rug  is  light  tan  color,  and  an 
ornate  floral  border  carries  Buddhist  emblems 
tied  with  fillets.  The  knot  of  destiny,  the 
wheel  of  the  law,  the  conch  shell,  the  urn, 
the  twin  fishes,  the  lotus,  the  canopy  and 
the  umbrella  are  all  introduced. 

-4"  9  X 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


PLATE  XXV. 

DUMBER  5496  is  a  five  medallion  rug 
with  tan  ground  in  both  field  and 
border.  Upon  this  soft  background 
floral  discs  are  laid,  and  sprays  of  fruit- 
blossoms  with  butterflies  are  scattered  over 
the  intervening  space. 

PLATE  XXVI. 

BNTIQUE  in  style,  color  and  design, 
No.  5 1 26  challenges  attention.  Lions 
form  the  decoration  of  the  corners; 
and  in  very  lightly  drawn  medallions,  no  two 
of  them  alike,  are  floral  sprays  with  an  occa- 
sional jade  ornament.  The  color  —  blue  —  is 
supreme,  the  rarest  of  all  blues  found  in 
rugs  —  the  real  robin's  egg  blue  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.    The  field  of  the  rug  is  yellow. 

PLATE  XXVII. 

DUMBER  5488  is  an  eight  medallion 
rug  of  the  blue  and  white  variety. 
The  field  has  softened  to  a  dull  ashen 
hue,   and   the  blues   are  strong  and  clear, 

— 92 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


though  marvellously  blended  with  each  other. 
The  designs  are  most  skillfully  shaded,  show- 
ing all  the  refinements  in  process  that  were 
introduced  by  the  early  emperors  of  the 
present  dynasty. 

PLATE  XXVIII. 

TEN  medallion,  imperial  yellow  rug 
is  No.  5153,  of  a  quality  that  lends 
beauty  to  every  feature  of  the  design 
which  adorns  it.  Every  effort  has  been  made 
to  crowd  the  field  with  ornament.  Large 
chrysanthemums  form  the  corner  designs, 
and  single  blossoms  are  set  on  the  field 
between  the  medallions.  Two  shades  of  blue, 
apricot,  persimmon,  yellow  and  cream  color 
are  used  in  borders  and  medallions.  In  color, 
design  and  quality  the  rug  deserves  to  be 
classed  "Imperial. " 

PLATE  XXIX. 

^^^HIRTEEN  medallions  are  rarely 
1  J  found  in  a  Chinese  rug,  and  because 
^^■"^  of  them  rug  No.  5536  is  unique.  The 
medallions  in  two  shades  of  blue  and  cream 

^93^ 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


are  laid  on  a  field  of  rich,  ripened  apricot  tint. 
Floral  sprays  are  distributed  between  the 
medallions  over  the  field  of  the  rug,  and  in  the 
border  large  flowers,  alternately  cream  color 
and  apricot,  are  freely  placed  at  intervals 
between  foliations  in  two  shades  of  blue  upon 
a  yellow  background. 

plate  xxx. 

Q UMBERS  5122  and  5123  are  a  pair  of 
Chinese  mats  in  soft  shades  of  yellow, 
blue  and  cream.  The  central  floral 
design  is  bounded  on  four  sides  by  a  conven- 
tional arrangement  of  the  sacred  mountain 
rising  from  the  waves. 

PLATE  XXXI. 

a PON  a  tan  field,  carrying  an  all-over 
scroll  design  which  has  faded  so  as 
to  be  hardly  distinguishable,  a  central 
medallion  composed  of  archaic  dragon  forms 
is  outlined  in  dark  blue  in  rug  No.  5474. 
Above  and  below  the  medallion,  confining  cor- 
ners which  carry  the  swastika,  are  dark  blue 
foliate  scrolls  which  show  a  tendency  to  per- 


PLATE  XXXII. 

Gold  and  azure  medallion  rug. 
[5522—6.10x3.9] 


-  f  1 


ANTIQUE  CHINESE  RUGS 


fectly  balanced  ornamentation.  This  rug  is 
of  particular  interest,  as  it  marks  a  late  seven- 
teenth century  rendering  of  an  earlier  design. 
It  is  surrounded  by  a  dark  blue  outer 
border  instead  of  one  of  the  corrosive  brown 
customarily  used  in  earlier  specimens. 


PLATE  XXXII. 


DUMBER  5522  corresponds  in  color 
and  age  with  No.  5585  and  were  it  not 
that  a  central  medallion  and  corners, 
formed  of  a  geometric  arrangement  of  archaic 
dragons,  have  been  introduced  in  the  border,  the 
designs  in  the  rugs  would  be  indentical. 
Even  now  they  very  closely  resemble  each 
other.  The  colorists  of  a  later  period  intro- 
duced shading  in  the  rendering  of  this  design. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE. 

Sung  Dynasty  A.D.  960-1279 

Yuan  Dynasty  1 280-1 367 

Ming  Dynasty  i  368-1643 

Hung-wu  1  368-1  398 

Chien-wen         1 399-1402 


TIFFANY  STUDIOS  COLLECTION 


Ming  Dynasty — Continued. 

Yung-lo 

1403- 

.  T  A  9  A 
1  4Z4 

Hung-hsi 

H25 

Hsuan-te 

1426- 

T  A  0  r 

Cheng-tung 

1436- 

T  A  A  r\ 

1449 

Ching-t'ai 

1450- 

T  A  C  f) 

T'ien-shun 

H57- 

T  A  6  A 
1  4U4 

Ch'eng-hua 

1465- 

IJ.87 

Hung-chih 

1488- 

,t  rnr 
1  5U5 

Cheng-te 

1506- 

t  r*  0  t 

Chia-ching 

1522- 

i  c66 

Lung-ching 

1572 

Wan-li 

J573- 

1 61 9 

T'ai-ch'ang 

1620 

T'ien-ch'i 

1621- 

1627 

Ch'ung-cheng 

1628- 

l643 

Ch'ing  Dynasty  1644- 

Shun-chih  1 644- 1 66 1 

K'ang-hsi  1 662-1722 

Yung-cheng  172  3- 173  5 

Kien-lung  1 736-1 795 

Chia-ch'ing  1 796- 1  8  20 

Tao-kuang  1 8  2 1  - 1 8  5  o 

Hsien-feng  1  8  5 1  - 1 8  6 1 

T,ung-chih  1 862-1 874 

Kuang-hsii  I$75~ 

9  6 


I 


k3$5 


